Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission (National Rurban Mission)

The mission was launched by Ministry of Rural Development in 2016. It aims at developing clusters of villages that preserve and nurture the essence of rural community life with focus on equality and inclusiveness along with ensuring availability of urban/modern facilities.

Problems with the Mission

• The programme overlooks structural issues undermining farming livelihoods and their profitability.
• Equating ‘Development with Urbanization’ is undermining of the wider notion of ‘development’.
• The definition of Rurban is ambiguous.

Solutions

• The government must move beyond the restrictive definition of development and must work on reviving the Gandhian notion of ‘rural development’.
• As of latest estimates (2019), 283 clusters in 37 political units have been approved.