One of the most pressing challenges that India faces today is
to 'include' the rural economy into its present robust economic growth and bridge
the widening 'Bharat-India' divide. Rural Business Hubs (RBH) is a big stride in this
direction.
An initiative by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Confederation of Indian Industry,
RBH is a first-of-its-kind Public, Private and Panchayat Partnership. It aims to foster
and permeate economic growth into and for rural India.
Panchayat is the democratic institution of power, with a constitutional mandate to
plan for social and economic development in rural India.
Panchayat acts as the fulcrum on which the RBH initiative will be based, and also
unfold itself.
Some of the impending factors that have hindered economic growth from reaching rural
India are:
-
Poor market linkages
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Weak Infrastructure
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Fragmented farms and farming
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Many layers of intermediaries
-
Lack of standardisation and grading etc.
RBH has been conceptualised to synergistically link rural products, skills and produces
with the marketing and professional skills of the industry.
