Rural Development (Unit 4)

Rural India, consisting of 72 per cent of the Indian population, is different from the urban segment of
the country. The Indian village plays a very significant role in the progress of the whole nation; it is a
source of art, culture, literature, religion, human values, philosophy, economic wealth and
agricultural produce. It is also a storehouse of abundant human resources, though the majority of
these resources are underdeveloped, undeveloped, unused, underused and overused, as well as
inefficient and poor in quality. Rural India is also characterized by the presence of high birth, death,
and infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, malnutrition, hunger, illiteracy, ignorance,
unemployment, poverty, poor sanitation and housing conditions, water scarcity and many such
stubborn problems of human resource development. Human resource development is a continuous
process of promoting quality of life for all people of an area. Human resource development is the
complete physical and mental growth of individuals. Emphasizes the importance of human resource
development and states that it involves getting the right kind of people, creating a culture that
nurtures and retains talent, providing avenues for competence development at all levels, ensuring
utilization of talent and aiding in the renewal of various productive human processes. Human
resource development as a planned continuous effort by management to improve employee capacity
levels and organizational performance through training, education and development programmes.

Definitions of HRD

1. HRD is the integrated use of training and development, career development, and organisational
development to improve individual and organisational effectiveness
2. HRD is the study and practice of increasing the learning capacity of individuals, groups, and
organisations through development and applications of learning based intervention for the
purpose of optimizing human and organisation growth and effectiveness
3. HRD develops available manpower through suitable methods such as training, promotions,
transfers and opportunities for career development. It is a systematic approach to deal with issues
related to individual employees, teams and an organisation

Need of Human Resource Development (HRD)

People need competencies (knowledge, attitudes, values and skills) to perform tasks. Higher degree and
quality of performance of tasks requires higher level of degree of skills. Without continuous
development of competencies in people, an organisation is not likely to achieve its goals.

Any organisation that is interested in improving its services and its effectiveness needs to develop its
employee competencies to perform the tasks required to bring about such improvements

The HRD is required for:

 Growth of organisation.
 Diversification in an organisation
 Renewing itself to become more effective
 Improving the systems and services of an organisation
 Change and becoming more dynamic
 Playing leadership roles

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 Why is human resources development important?

Improving your human resources and developing an HR strategy may provide your business with a
broad array of advantages. Many of these benefits could help your business operation by improving
the employee environment. However, other advantages may concentrate more on your bottom line
or your overall company culture. Here are a few reasons why developing a human resources strategy
is essential:

 Enhances employee relations

A human resources strategy can improve how your employees interact by creating a series of
guidelines. This guidance could help employees develop better methods of teamwork, establish
proper conduct and set rules for resolving conflicts. In this way, a human resources strategy may
improve employee relationships and create a more engaged workplace.

 Creates focus on company goals

Developing an HR strategy can help connect your employees more effectively to your overall
company goals. For instance, your HR team may create a series of training videos that educate
your employees about company vision and goals. These videos may help minimize any
confusion in your team and keep your teams better focused.

 Clarifies hiring practices

Developing your human resources team can help define your hiring practices, leading to greater
efficiency and productivity. For example, better HR practices that focus on company culture and
needs could help you filter your options more efficiently. In this way, better HR could improve
your hiring practices and advance the qualifications of your teams.

 Improves workplace operation

Creating an HR strategy can also improve the operation of your workplace. For example, it could
help you identify employee engagement and methods of improving it. It could help you track
your team's interaction, identify obstacles to completion and develop methods of improving
operation efficiency. For example, your HR team may move equipment, reposition employee
desks and take other steps to develop your work area.

 Increases employee skills

A human resources strategy may help you improve your employees' skills in the workplace. For
example, your team may hold further education courses that teach your team new skills and
abilities. Your HR strategy can also spot any new laws affecting your business and train your
employees about how these changes might affect them. In this way, your company could be
better prepared to handle new guidelines and restrictions.

Concept of HRD

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The concept of Human Resource assumes that human beings are a great asset to an organization. They
can contribute a great deal to the achievement of organisational goals. This positive view of people
working in the organisations as an asset with unlimited potential is the core of the concept of the human
resource system.

HRD is a process of helping people to acquire competencies. HRD is needed by any organisation that
wants to be dynamic and growth-oriented or to succeed in a fast-changing environment. Organisations
can become dynamic and grow only through the efforts and competencies of their human resources.

Human resource development is the process of improving your workforce by providing further training
and career development for each of your teams. You may also develop your human resources strategy
for managing all work-related concerns. In this way, human resource development is often a multi-tiered
process that requires several focused steps. The general flow of human resource development includes:

1. Examining the effectiveness of your human resources

2. Identifying your HR strengths and challenges
3. Determining methods of improvement
4. Executing and tracking these new strategies

Developing your human resources may require more than one evaluation and consist of sustained and
long-term practices. It may be helpful to hire consultants who can improve your HR through evaluation
and recommendations. However, you may also develop your HR internally by focusing on strategies
and steps that your team can execute.

What is human resource development?

HRD is the integrated use of training and career development efforts to improve the performance of the
individual or group as well as overall organizational effectiveness. It develops the competencies that
employees need to perform the current jobs and prepares them for future roles through planned learning
activities. HRD focuses on matching the needs of the individual and the organization.

While choosing the right person for the job and then retaining them has always been the focus on the
HR department, the emphasis of HRD is on motivating and developing employees. This requires HR
departments to create policies and programs that lead to the development of the workforce and
contribute to the development or the organization.

What are the benefits of human resource development?

HRD is viewed as critical for higher productivity, profitability and better relations. Some of the most
important benefits include:

 Development of new skills, attitudes and knowledge

 Increased trust and respect
 Increased commitment to jobs
 Increased acceptability towards change, as employees find themselves better equipped with
problem-solving capabilities
 Improved team spirit and overall growth of employees
 Greater organizational effectiveness and a culture of efficiency
 Improved employee participation

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  Better human resources (HR) planning for collecting useful and objective data on employee
policies and programs

Levels of human resources development

Most human resource development occurs at three different levels. These elements help focus a
company's development and provide a comprehensive HR strategy that helps the business and its
employees. These three different developmental levels include:

 Individual development: This element focuses on improving each individual in a company. It

strives to teach each employee new information, skills or behaviors that could help them
integrate more readily into a workplace and help them grow as people in general.
 Career development: This concept focuses on helping companies find better ways to improve
their employees' careers. It may identify methods to increase engagement, add more
opportunities for employees and manage their career needs.
 Organizational development: This factor develops creative corporate strategies that improve
human resources and overall operation. It could help a team produce a more efficient and
effective operation.

Methods of human resources development

There are a variety of methods you may choose for HR development. These strategies can improve the
performance of your teams and the operation of your company. A few methods that your company may
use to create their HR strategy include:

Employee coaching

HR development can take a more casual approach and include personal coaching from managers to
employees. This method lets your team adjust its HR strategy with minimal preparation or training
expense. Some companies may also integrate casual coaching after formal training.

In-classroom training

This development type is often a traditional training with a specialized teacher. It can provide your team
with practical examples of various HR situations, including handling employee conflict and ways to
praise a successful employee. Companies may handle this training themselves, with in-person or virtual
classes, or send employees to attend a course that improves their HR skills.

Succession planning

When an employee leaves a company, it may help to have a successor in place or a strategy for
identifying someone for the role. Your HR development may include creating comprehensive plans for
succession, including when to seek new employees and which methods to use. This step could help keep
a business fully staffed regardless of their turnover rate.

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Planned organization changes

HR development may also take the form of various organizational changes in your business. For
example, you may promote someone doing a great job and integrate them into your HR changes. You
could also adjust your HR structure and execution to create a more efficient and easy-to-understand
model for your employees.

Features of Human Resource development

The essential features of human resource development can be listed as follows:

 Human resource development is a process in which employees of the organisations are

recognized as its human resource. It believes that human resource is most valuable asset
of the organisation.
 It stresses on development of human resources of the organisation. It helps the employees
of the organisation to develop their general capabilities in relation to their present jobs
and expected future role.
 It emphasise on the development and best utilization of the capabilities of individuals in
the interest of the employees and organisation.
 It helps is establishing/developing better inter-personal relations. It stresses on
developing relationship based on help, trust and confidence.
 It promotes team spirit among employees.
 It tries to develop competencies at the organisation level. It stresses on providing healthy
climate for development in the organisation.
 HRD is a system. It has several sub-systems. All these sub-systems are inter-related and
interwoven. It stresses on collaboration among all the sub-systems.
 It aims to develop an organisational culture in which there is good senior-subordinate
relations, motivation, quality and sense of belonging.
 It tries to develop competence at individual, inter-personal, group and organisational
level to meet organisational goal.
 It is an inter-disciplinary concept. It is based on the concepts, ideas and principles of
sociology, psychology, economics etc.
 It form on employee welfare and quality of work life. It tries to examine/identify
employee needs and meeting them to the best possible extent.
 It is a continuous and systematic learning process. Development is a lifelong process,
which never ends.

The key elements of a Human Resource Development

Organizational culture

Corporate culture is the combination of values, work rules, corporate vision, traditions and beliefs that a
company has adopted over the years. The personnel management system plays an important role in the
organizational culture of a company. Establishing company policies, procedures and standards allow
employees to understand and learn acceptable behaviour at work. For example, a policy may stipulate
that punctuality is important within the organization, which promotes the improvement of employees’
time management skills, or the HR team may adopt a more flexible time management policy that values
employees’ freedom to manage their own schedules also called “flexible hours”. Corporate culture,
therefore, influences the way people work and collaborate with each other and with customers.

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Change planning

The business world is changing rapidly. Technology is constantly evolving and updating, people are
coming and going, and the company’s finances vary from time to time. It is the responsibility of the HR
team to help stabilize the company for a change, and this cannot be ignored. Change planning means
helping employees understand their roles while taking into account the overall picture of the company. It
is about building bridges between departments and leaders and getting people to talk about the
circumstances of the situation. HR uses this information and develops a disaster management plan to
change the workflow and reassure employees in the event of a disaster or alarming change.

Training and development

Almost all employees, including those who are highly and highly skilled, need training at some point
because each organization does things differently from the others. Policies and procedures must be
communicated firmly to all employees as part of their integration process all on the same page. The
human resources management system is also responsible for the ongoing development of employees.
This training makes it possible to update the skills of the employees and to bring to the company
original and modern ideas.

Health and Safety

The human resources management software plays a key role in ensuring health and safety at work. This
can be done through policies and procedures, but Human Resources can go one step further to ensure
that employees understand the risks associated with certain activities. For example, if there are heavy
machines in the office, Human Resources can put up warning signs and signs to show what to do in an
emergency. This minimizes the possibility of an accident and helps avoid subsequent legal action
against the company.

Employee Recruitment and Retention

While recruitment and retention may seem self-evident for HRMS management systems, it is the central
point of contact for all HR policies and systems. Recruiting qualified employees, retaining them in the
company, training them adequately to succeed in their work and encouraging them to continue their
education, qualifications, benefits, and compensation are all success factors for the company and should
always be taken into account by HR managers.

The concept of human resource development dimensions

1. Managing The Human Resource Environment

This element covers everything that relates to company culture, compliance or regulation issues, the
mission and vision of the organization, and so on. It means that the environment or climate that exists
within the company is the primary responsibility of human resources. Managing it in a way conducive to
encouraging good performance from the workforce is what HR does. The internal environment of a
company is bound to have a substantial effect on every employee.

2. Acquisition and Preparation of Human Resources

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As we all know, human resources form the backbone of any organization. That means that the
acquisition of the right people is a top priority, as is the development of those people to maximize their
potential. This is the second dimension of HR that needs to be strong at the foundational level itself. The
acquisition is a crucial activity that can have a substantial financial or business implication if not carried
out correctly. Talent acquisition is different from recruitment in various ways.

3. Assessment and Development of Human Resources

Assessment of the talent that exists within the firm is a big responsibility for HR. They need to find the
right people who can be developed for more prominent and crucial business-linked roles. It is an
important dimension to have as part of the entire employee lifecycle since it directly impacts whether an
employee decides to stay with the firm or not in the long term. This forms the third pillar. Today, an
important job of every HR official is to retain as many good employees as possible.

4. Compensation of Human Resources

All those who join an organization are not doing it only to remain employed. The main or end goal is to
be compensated and rewarded for the work they do and the skills they bring to the table. Managing this
aspect such that it remains fair and equitable is the job of human resources and the fourth dimension.
One of the three reasons why you are studying a human resource management program is to know how
to correctly compensate workers for their job.

Dimension of rural development

Human Dimension: The basis of all rural development are people. If a rural area has massive
outmigration of young people or if a large percentage of the farmers is above the age of 65 (as is the
case in Italy, Greece, or Portugal), it will be very difficult to initiate endogenous economic growth.
The human dimension also includes the educational level of the population, their cultural identity and
their social structure. Human factors are not only relevant in the rural areas: we also have to consider the
impact of urban life- style change on rural areas, such as changes in leisure activities or food
consumption of the urban majority.

Economic Dimension: Many languages have sayings which point out that for ordinary men (and
women) the economic sphere of life comes first and foremost. Societies cannot indefinitely afford to
subsidize living conditions only for reasons such as “landscape preservation” or “cultural heritage”. In
the end, if there is no viable economic basis for rural life, there will be no rural life. Many experts are
concerned that policies for improving or at least stabilizing the economic situation in rural areas have
not worked too well in the past. For most farmers, the economic situation has deteriorated, despite
heavy subsidies from both national and Community sources. While the European Union has reduced in
the past 30 years their agricultural spending from about 80% to less than 50% of Community
Expenditures, the total amount of agricultural subsidies is still very high in comparison to other
economic sectors. This has great political relevance, because agriculture and forestry are often not the
most important economic activities in rural areas.

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 Environment & Resources: In the long run, rural development is only possible, if it does not waste
essential natural resources (such as water), if it preserves the cultural landscape, if it does not pollute
soils, water and air, and if it safeguards the biological diversity of plants and animals. Other than in
cities, where we can live and work in a highly artificial environment, the rural areas depend to a
much greater extent on natural resources and a healthy natural environment for many of their
economic activities, such as tourism, food production, or forestry. Every new policy measure for the
promotion of rural development has to be evaluated in its impact on the natural environment. New
economic and political concepts have to be developed and implemented to promote the preservation
of biodiversity, such as the introduction of ecological criteria in agricultural subsidies.

Political Dimension: Public opinion and the participation of various social and economic groups in
the political debate about development priorities are most important for rural change. There can be no
doubt that farmers’ protests and massive lobbying of the food industry have in past years
significantly affected Europe’s agricultural policies - both on the national and EU level. Rural
development scenarios therefore cannot be based solely on objective bio-physical conditions or
economic rationality - they must also take into account political pressures; and this clearly requires
analyses of the power balance between various political actors of rural development.

Science & Technology: Today, every sector in a modern society is affected by the breathtaking
development in science and technology. The rural areas are no exception.We already can see the
changes that modern information technology has triggered in some sectors of the rural economy, such
as in direct marketing and tourism, where they seem to open-up new possibilities for economic
development. We have to analyze whether these trends are likely to progress and what other sectors
of rural life might be affected. For instance, we believe that rural areas in the fringe of big cities will
see a new sub-urbanization due to an increase in tele-commuting.

 Human resource development dimensions health

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), launched by the Honourable Prime Minister
of India on 12 April 2005, is an ambitious strategy of the government. It aims to restructure
the delivery mechanism for health towards providing universal access to equitable, affordable
and quality health care that is accountable and responsive to the people’s needs, reducing
child and maternal deaths as well as stabilizing population, and ensuring gender and
demographic balance. The Mission is an articulation of the government’s commitment to raise
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 public spending on health from 0.9% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 2−3% of
GDP and aims to undertake architectural correction of the health system. The Mission
will enable the system to effectively handle increased allocation and promote policies
that strengthen public health management and service delivery in the country. Wide-
ranging stakeholder consultations were held over a six-month period with state governments,
the Planning Commission, the National Advisory Council, other government
ministries/departments, health professionals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
to draw up the Mission strategy. Towards achieving the National Health Policy goals and the
health-related MDGs, the Mission seeks convergences among the sectors of health, family
welfare, AYUSH, nutrition and sanitation. This will be translated at the village level through
the Village Health and Sanitation Committee of the Gram Panchayat, and, at the district level,
by the District Health Mission. The strategy encompasses the principles of ‘Health for All’,
such as equitable distribution, community participation, inter-sectoral coordination, and
appropriate technology, etc. Decentralised planning (district plan); community ownership of
health service system, and inter-sectoral collaboration are the pillars on which the
superstructure of the Mission has been built. Formulation of transparent policies for
deployment and career development of human resources for health, strengthening capacity for
data collection, assessment and review for evidence-based planning, monitoring and
supervision and technical support to national, state and district health missions for public
health management are part of the core strategy of the mission.

Village level: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

The Mission aims to increase the availability and accessibility to health care by providing
over 400 000 Female Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), one per 1000
population (flexible for tribal, hilly and desert areas) in 18 high focus states [which
include eight Empowered Action Group (EAG) states, eight north-eastern states/Union
territories, and the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh] with poor health
indicators/ weak public health infrastructure .

Sub-health centre

The sub-centre is the first contact point between the community and public health
system and manned by an ANM and a male health worker. About 7% lack an ANM
(shortfall of 11 190) and 50% do not have a male health worker1. The NRHM envisages
the provision of an additional ANM at each sub-centre. This will require about 142 655
additional ANMs to man the existing sub-centres. About 21 983 new sub-centres need
to be established as per the 2001 population norms, thereby increasing the number of an
additional 43 966 ANMs, to man the new sub-centres. Thus, taking altogether, the
country will need about a total of 200 000 ANMs. This entails recruitment, selection,
training and placement and monitoring activities. States fund the salaries of the male
health workers. The existing training capacity may be able to handle the additional
manpower within the Mission period but they also need to be strengthened. There may be
a need to open new training schools in the underserved areas giving priorities to the
local girls for undergoing ANM training. There is a provision of Rs10 000 (approximately
US$ 220) (per year) as untied fund for the sub-centre, to be managed jointly by the ANM
and Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI) for improvement of services. Availability of and
flexibility in utilizing the fund for improving the services as per local need will empower
the ANM and the PRI. Nearly half of the sub-centres are in rented buildings. The
evaluation of sub-centres conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic

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 Research (NCAER), Delhi revealed that sub-centres operating in rented buildings do not
have a conducive working environment due to lack of space, and furniture and equipment
facilities.

Primary health centres

All the existing 23 109 Primary Health Centres are being scaled up to provide 24x7
service deliveries in a phased manner with the primary aim of improving institutional
delivery. At the PHC, against the availability of one staff nurse, it is proposed to provide
three staff nurses to ensure round-the-clock services. Outpatient services would be
strengthened through postings/appointments of AYUSH doctors, over and above the medical
officers posted at the PHCs. Nearly 700 PHCs are currently without doctors. To enable PHCs
to provide 24x7 hours service delivery, an additional 24 000 MBBS/AYUSH doctors are
needed besides 46 000 staff nurses. Guidelines for 24X7 PHCs have been prepared.The states
have to establish 4436 more PHCs to meet the shortfall in the required number of PHCs as per
the 2001 population norms. The states are undertaking facility surveys to come up with the
needed numbers of health centres, and to fill gaps in manpower, equipment, drugs and other
facilities required to provide quality services.

Community health centres

The NRHM aims at ensuring a functional 30- bedded rural hospital at the Community
Health Centre (usually located at the Block headquarters) level and seeks to scale the
CHCs up to the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) to provide round-the-clock
hospital services with specialist facilities. The manpower requirements for every CHC will be
met through provision of seven specialists (against four at present) and nine staff nurses
(against seven at present). A separate AYUSH set-up will also be provided in every CHC. An
additional 3332 CHCs will be required to meet the 2001 population norms1. Upgradation of
CHCs to IPHS will have to be done in phases. To begin with, all CHCs are to be made First
Referral Units (FRUs) providing emergency obstetrics and newborn care having all critical
elements of FRU as per the guidelines. Thereafter, the better- functioning CHCs are to be
upgraded to meet IPHSl. Funds have been provided to two identified CHCs per district to be
upgraded to meet IPHS.

 Human resource development dimensions education

The role of education in Human Resource Development is immense. It not only helps you get through
interviews and get jobs, but they also help in shaping how we think and process things. Education is one
of the most important things in social change and it has been proved time and again. It is undoubtedly a
major agency of socialization. In this regard, teachers and educational institutions act as socializing
agents. Social reformers over ages have time and again proved the value of education by helping the
society remove various practices such as cate restrictions, inequality of women, etc. Without knowledge,
a person is not complete.

He/she gets lost in the darkness of ignorance. Without education and enlightenment, one cannot
contribute to society at all.

Education has been used to bring in modernization and it was emphasized from the 1960s and 1970s
onwards.

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Without education, there wouldn’t have been any change in society, which includes doing away with
social evil customs and practices. From agriculture and other occupations to the adoption of scientific
technology in the industry, education has helped in achieving goals for every country and every society.

Some of the major factors that drive education are productive economies, thirst for knowledge,
questions arising in the minds of people as they take up jobs, people partaking in decision making, etc.
Education has helped modernization in more ways than one. In other words, the requirement for
education is not for an individual.

In fact, it arises out of the requirements of society. In a changing society, education and the role of
education keep on changing from generation to generation. The relationship between the educational
system and society is neutral.

While society influences the educational systems at certain times; at other times, the educational system
influences changes in society.

 Education of women: The national policy on education, 1986 emphasizes education for females
so that women can achieve equality. This obviously developed new values and society has
started respecting women altogether.

This was made to remove woman’s illiteracy and removing obstacles so that they can access
education easily. Women now can take part in vocational, technical, and professional courses
without any kind of hindrance.

 Education of backward classes: Education is surely related to the development of the

community as well as the individual. In India, education has played a vital role for centuries
now. The best part about the evolvement is that now weaker sections have access to higher
education.

The rate of illiteracy and social backwardness has decreased over the years. However, we should
not forget history where they have been exploited and harassed due to lack of education.

 Role of Education in Human Resource Development: Education shapes our present actions,
influences our future plans as well as has an impact on our past history. It is important so that
individuals can reach their goals and achievements. Education and Human Development are co-
related.

 The role of education in human capital formation: An educated society will obviously crave
for development while an illiterate one will be satisfied with whatever they have.

Education boosts productivity and prosperity. It plays a huge role in developing a society and
providing cultural richness.

Role of Education in Human Resource Development

If you compare a person with a master’s degree to someone with just a high school diploma, then the
chances of cracking the same interview are more for the former. Education not just helps you attain
individual goals and flourish in your life, but it also helps you to understand the world in a better way.

We cannot deny that it is indeed a great resource to us. Education enlightens a person in several ways
apart from helping him grab his dream job. It teaches us the basic principles and values of life.

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Institutions play a huge role in equipping young people with skills that are needed for business houses.
However, there is room for improvement and it can only be achieved if universities, companies, trade
unions, and shareholders can reshape course offerings so that candidates can meet the evolving demands
of the market.

When it comes to human values in Importance of human values in education

education, we cannot forget how they can shape the thoughts and actions of a child. This is the reason
why educational institutions now give special focus on value-based education.

It helps students become more responsible and sensible and understand the perspective of life in a better
way. Children can understand that a successful life is beyond being a good person. It also includes being
a responsible citizen. Value-based education provides a positive direction to children to shape their
future.

Needless to say, it also helps in character and personality development. It is essential for the holistic
development of a child and this is the reason why parents must focus on value-based education.

It promotes knowledge and awareness in the rural area and thus, the right to education is a fundamental
right. Just like food, shelter, and clothing, education is necessary for a person’s life as it opens doors of
employment and provides comfort.

It increases our intelligence and brings awareness to people. It helps you understand things better and
questions them as well. The best weapon to remove poverty from society is education. From ethical
values to paying attention to health, education also helps people stay away from superstitious beliefs.

Moreover, it has an immense contribution to the national development of the country. Do not forget that
the nation depends on the thought processes of the youngsters. Without good political ideology and
awareness, a nation cannot progress. The standard of living of citizens also depends on the level of
education they are getting.

 Human resource development dimensions Energy

Sustainable development highlights the importance of energy sector in any economy by establishing
specific targets in the field. Also, for a good human resources management were implemented
strategies at national and international level being shown in this way their importance in sustainable
development of states and global organizations. The role of human resources in sustainable
development of the energy sector can be viewed from two points of view, on the one hand, is
presented the influence of the energy sector on the social dimension and, on the other hand, is
presented the influence of human resources on know-how, technologies and innovation in
the energy field.

The energy sector has an important role in any economy because it contributes to reducing poverty,
improving human welfare and raising living standards. Given the economic, social
and environmental problems, that humanity face at international level, as well as the role of energy
sector in solving these problems, proposing and implementing sustainable development strategies
rely on sustainable management of energy sector, by default on a good human resources
management in this sector. The role of human resources in sustainable development of the energy
sector can be seen from at least two points of view. On the one hand, are the actions taken by human
factors in order to reduce the production of energy obtained from fossil fuels, to increase production

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from renewable sources, as well as to reduce the energy consumption regardless the origin of energy
sources, in order to allow the achievement of sustainable development objectives.

In this regard, there are many research studies, reports and strategies of international organizations
and experts, consisting, for example, in analyzing the consumption and energy production and their
environmental impact, establishing a set of indicators to assess patterns of energy production and of
household usage, presenting the social dimension in the economic, social and environmental
development. On the other hand, the second view is that of the importance of intellectual
development -the education- of human resources in sustainable development of economy and
energy which are presented in the research, a smaller quantity, such as, for example, the
importance of the human factor in the change of various ways of water management.

 Nutritional Status

Nutrition is an important component of preventive health care.An optimum level of nutrition is

.the amount of intake that promotes to the highest level of health. Individual nutritional levels are
closely related to the status of health and disease. However, an excess calorie intake leads to
obesity, whereas a deficit intake of calorie results into a depletion of essential nutrients. These
alterations can lead to biochemical changes and eventually to clinical signs and symptoms.
Nutritional. Requirements are influenced by many factors such as gender, age, physical activity,
physiological status" drugs and alcohol intake. Nutritional status is now recognized as one of the
prime indicators of the health of an individual.

 Causes of Malnutrition

Direct Causes of malnutrition are mainly (a) low food intake and (b) frequent attack
of diseases and infections. The list of indirect causes is a long one and is as follows:

 Decrease in the availability of food resources due to population explosion

 Low production
 Low purchasing power
 Poor personal hygiene and sanitation
 High susceptibility to diseases and infections
 Lack of awareness

Of the 800 million individuals undernourished worldwide, a little under one-third (258 million
individuals) are concentrated in South Asia (Gaiha, 1997). Under- nutrition is the principal cause
of ill-health, premature mortality and morbidity among children of the developing countries
(Uthman and Aremu, 2008). About 70% of the world's, malnourished children live in Asia,
giving that region the highest concentration of worldwide childhood malnutrition (Khor, 2005).
With its large population size and widespread poverty, a majority of individuals in India are
undernourished (Antony and Laxmaiah, 2008). Tndia shows the world's highest prevalence of
childhood under-nutrition with more than half of its children being undernourished (Bamji,
2003). In India, the prevalence of obesity is increasing in the urban 'areas than in the rural areas.
Th is is the results of new dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles.

 Lack/excess of intake and/or faulty utilization of nutrients in the body can lead to malnutrition .

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  Malnutrition is of two types: under-nutrition and over-nutrition.

 The ultimate objective of nutritional assessment studies is to improve human

health and hence the quality of life of human beings.

 Access to basic amenities

Access to basic amenities such as drinking water, sanitation, electricity and drainage is imperative for a
decent quality of life. The need for these basic amenities has been universally recognised and has been a
major plank in the formulation of several policies and programmes in India. While rural households in
India have witnessed a gradual improvement in the access to basic amenities in proportional terms, they
continue to face high levels of deprivation. Adding to such a grim scenario are appalling socio-economic
disparities and exclusions that have been highlighted in this article using data from the Census of India,
2001 and 2011, and the National Sample Survey (NSS) Housing Conditions Round unit records data,
1993 and 2008/09. Determinants of households having access to basic amenities have been estimated
using an econometric exercise and the contribution of caste-based factors of the gap in accessing basic
amenities among various social groups has been estimated using the decomposition technique on
household-level information and NSS unit record data 2008/09. Households belonging to the weaker
sections of society, such as, the poor, wage labourers, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, have
been found to be the most deprived, neglected and excluded. The findings of this article call for
immediate action towards providing adequate basic amenities with inclusive and group-specific
provisions with a focus on socio-spatial situatedness of households in rural India so as to enhance the
overall quality of life and well-being.

 Population composition

The composition of the population helps us to know how many are males or females, which
age group they belong to, how educated they are and what type of occupations they are
employed in, what their income levels and health conditions are.

Population composition is the description of the characteristics of a group of people in terms

of factors such as their age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, and relationship to the
head of household. Of these, the age and sex composition of any population are most widely
used. The number and proportion of males and females in each age group have considerable
impact on the population’s current and future social and economic situation.

Elements of Population Composition

There are many elements of population composition that demographers look at, each of which has
different implications.

 Age. The average age of the population, or the portion of the population over or under a certain
age, can tell demographers a lot. If a population has a lower median age, then the population is
growing, meaning that in time, a large number of people will need jobs, housing, and social
services. If the population has a higher median age, on the other hand, then the aging population
will be relying on the government much more, while contributing much less to the workforce. In
a quickly growing population, we would expect the median age to be lower than 50 years old.
 Sex. The composition of a population with regard to sex is usually expected to be roughly 50/50.
However, it is not exact, due to a number of factors. Males slightly outnumber females
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 worldwide, but in many populations, females outnumber males. Males tend to outnumber
females by birth ratio, but females tend to have a higher life expectancy than males. Most
populations, however, have a proportion of males and females that is nearly 50/50.
 Ethnicity. After age and sex, ethnicity is often the third most commonly studied element of
population composition. The definition of ethnicity is a little more complicated, but an ethnic
group is generally considered to be a group of people with a shared cultural tradition and history
that distinguish them from other groups. The ethnicity of a population can have implications for
political representation and social inclusion, especially in ethnically diverse nations.
 Distribution and density. This factor refers to where and how close together the people of a
certain population live. For example, the proportion of people living in rural areas versus urban
areas is an important factor in demography.
 Wealth. The wealth of a population, and more specifically, the gap between the wealthiest and
poorest people in that population, is an important factor as well. Also, the distribution of wealth
by group in a population, such as by sex or ethnicity, is significant too.
 Population size. This simply refers to the number of people living in a certain area, regardless of
any other factors.
 Fecundity. This describes the fertility of a population or the rate at which a population is able to
reproduce in a certain amount of time. Obviously, this factor is related to sex distribution and is
one of the two main factors in population growth.
 Mortality. This is the other factor in population growth, as it counterbalances fecundity. The
mortality rate measures the average number of deaths in the population in a certain time. Not
accounting for disasters, the fecundity rate minus the mortality rate is used to describe the
growth in population. This is also affected by the average age of a population, as a higher
median age would mean a higher mortality rate.

Sex Composition

 The ratio between the number of women and men in the population is called the sex ratio. In
India, the sex ratio is the number of females per thousand males.

 In some countries, it is calculated by the formula,

 The sex ratio is unfavourable to women in areas where the practice of female infanticide, female
foeticide and domestic violence against them are prevalent. One of the reasons for the low sex
ratio could be the lower socio-economic status of women. A high sex ratio does not necessarily
mean that women have a better position, it may be due to the migration of men to other areas for
employment.
 On average, the world population reflects a sex ratio of 102 males per 100 females. The highest
sex ratio is in Latvia where there are 85 males per 100 males. On the contrary, Qatar has 311
males per 100 females.
 The sex ratio is favourable for females in 139 countries of the world and unfavourable for them
in the remaining 72 countries listed by the United Nations.
 Countries like India, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have a lower sex ratio
(lesser females). A greater part of Europe (including Russia) has a higher sex ratio. This is

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 attributed to the better status of women and an excessively male-dominated out-migration to
different parts of the world in the past.

Age Structure

It represents the number of people of different age groups. Large size of the population in the age group
of 15 59 represents a large working population while a greater proportion of the population over 60
years indicates an ageing population. Age structure is an important indicator of population composition.

Population pyramid

A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the
distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it
typically takes the shape of a pyramid when the population is growing. Males are usually shown on the
left and females on the right, and they may be measured in absolute numbers or as a percentage of the
total population. The pyramid can be used to visualize the age of a particular population. It is also used
in ecology to determine the overall age distribution of a population; an indication of the reproductive
capabilities and likelihood of the continuation of a species. Number of people per unit area of land is
called population density.

Age Sex Pyramid

It refers to the number of females and males in different age groups of a population. The age-sex
pyramid is shown with the help of a population pyramid and its shape gives us the characteristics
(expanding, constant or declining population ) of the population. The percentage of males is shown on
the left side and the percentage of females is shown on the right side of the pyramid.

 Expanding Population – It is characterised by a triangular-shaped pyramid with a wide base and

is typical of less developed countries like Nigeria, Bangladesh and Mexico. These countries have
larger populations in lower age groups due to high birth rates.

 Constant Population – It is characterised by a bell-shaped pyramid with its top tapered. This
shows birth and death rates are almost equal resulting in a near-to-constant population.

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  Declining population – It is characterised by a narrow base and a tapered top showing low birth
and death rates. The population growth in developed countries is usually zero or negative.

Rural-Urban Population

 The classification of population into rural and urban is based on residence. The age-sex
occupational structure, population density and level of development vary between rural and
urban areas. Generally, rural areas are those where people are engaged in primary activities and
in urban regions, the majority of the working population is engaged in non-primary activities.
 In western countries, males outnumber females in rural areas and in urban areas, females
outnumber males. The reverse holds true for countries like Nepal, Pakistan and India. The higher
population of females in urban areas of the western countries is due to the influx of females from
rural areas to avail of the vast job opportunities. Farming in these countries is usually male-
dominated.
 In Asian urban areas, the males outnumber females due to the predominance of male migration.
In rural areas, females actively participate in farming activities. Shortage of housing, high cost of
living, paucity of job opportunities and lack of security in cities discourage women to migrate
from rural to urban centres.

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Literacy-

Literacy of a country determines its socio-economic development as it depicts the standard of living,
social status of women, availability of educational facilities and policies of the government. The literacy
rate in India denotes the percentage of the population above 7 years of age who are able to read, write
and do mathematical calculations with understanding.

Occupational Structure –

 The working population is the number of women and men of the age group of 15 – 59. This
working population takes part in various occupations ranging from agriculture, forestry, fishing,
manufacturing construction, commercial transport, service sector, communication and other
unclassified services.
 Primary activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining. The secondary sector
includes manufacturing; trade transport, communication and other services are classified as
tertiary activities. Jobs related to research, information technology and development come under
quaternary activities.
 The proportion of the working population engaged in these four sectors indicate the level of
economic development of a nation. If the economy of a country is in its primitive stages, then the
proportion of people engaged in the primary sector would be high as it involves the extraction of
natural resources. A developed nation can accommodate workers in secondary, tertiary as well as
quaternary sectors.

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