Tamil Nadu Public Service Commissions Syllabus - Community Development

Paper - I
Concept of Community Development - Meaning - Objectives - Scope

Earlier experiments in rural development - Gurgaon experiment - Marthandam experiment - Sriniketan experiment - Sevagram experiment - Firka development scheme - Etawah pilot project - baroda experiment - Nilokheri experiment - Grow more food campaign

Programmes of Rural Development - Post independance period - Community Development Programme - Objectives; coverage, activities, National extension service.

Intensive Agricultural District programme - Intensive Agriculture Area Programme - High Hielding Varieties Programme - Massive Agricultural Production Programme.

Small Farmers Development Agency - Marginal Farmers and Agricultural labourers Scheme - Food for Work Programme - Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment - National Rural Employment Programme - Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme - Jawahar Rozgar Yozana - Indira Awaas Yozana - Millions Wells Scheme.

Drought Prone Area Programme - Desert Development Programme - Tribal Area Development Programme - Hill Area Development Programme - Command Area Development Programme - Desert Development Programme - Backward Area Development Programme - Wasteland Development Programme.

Integrated Rural Development Programme - meaning - Objectives - target groups - poverty line - Achievements - problems.

Welfare Programme - Minimum Needs Programme - Applied Nutrition Programme - Noon Meal Scheme - Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas - Integrated Child Development Scheme - Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Programme.

Programme of Rural Health, sanitation, housing, single light scheme, - MP;s area development programme - MLA's area development programme.

Gandhian approach to Rural Development - Constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi - Relevance, Rural Industries - relevance of Rural Industries to socio-economic problems in India - problems of rural industries in India - agencies promoting rural industries - Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Small Industries Board, Coir Board, Handloom Board, Silk Board, Handicrafts Board, District Industrial Centre.

Paper - II

Principles of Community Development - Inter-disciplinary direntions of rural development - Rural social structure and constraints to rural development.

Rural organisation and rural development - School, Women's club, co-operatives, village panchayat, Youth club, Self-help group etc.

Role of voluntary organisation in community development - meaning and definition - types of voluntary agencies - functions.

Peoples participation in rural development - imperatives - types - constraints - methods and techniques to ensure people's participation - Participatory rural appraisal - a technique for enlisting people's participation.


Strategies of rural development - growth oriented strategy - welfare oriented strategy - responsive strategy - Holistic strategy.

Approaches to rural development - Gandian approach - multipurpose approach - sectoral approach - target group approach - area approach - integrated approach - anthyodaya approach.

Poverty line - Vicious circle of poverty - origin of poverty - indicators of poverty - causes - unemployment - under employment disguised unemployment - over population - illiteracy - land ownership and tenure food problems - malnutrition.

Education and rural development - Need for human resource development in rural areas and educational strategies - universalisation of primary education - problems - adult education - non formal education - national literacy mission.

Administrative structure for rural development - central - state, district and block levels. Statistics related to rural development.

Decentralised planning - concept of Gram Swaraj - Panchayat Raj system - 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments - present status of panchayat Raj system in Tamil Nadu.