Constructing Indices using Socio-Economics Parameters : A Study of Farmers in Vidarbha

Agriculture in India dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization and since then has played an important role in the economic growth of the country. Indian agriculture comprises a huge variety of crops, the leading among these being rice and wheat. The Vidarbha region is located in Maharashtra and high output of BT cotton and oranges is obtained from Vidarbha. The Bhandara district is investigated in this study by gathering primary data from three villages namely, Dhanla, Charba, and Chicholi, and constructing socio-economic indices using the same. The present study presents the socio-economic condition of farmers in the Vidarbha region. Certain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been included in the research to evaluate the development of the samples. The study reveals that the surveyed regions have a varying standard of living and quality of living ranging between moderate and fairly above average and the z-test suggests that the government policies have been fairly fruitful in uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the farmers. The research concludes that the government policies have significantly affected the socio-economic conditions of the farmers but not to the expected level