Irrigation and Rural Development of India

ABSTRACT: Investment in irrigation has remained a debatable issue despite irrigation’s massive impact upon civilization since ancient days. After the Industrial revolution, if we observe the structural change of the world towards industrialization (Kuznets, 1966,1971), mainly because of the terms of trade tilt towards the finished goods, out of given land area, debate emerged whether to use land optimally for industrialization or towards irrigation to promote agriculture. Obvious debate raised regarding land use and that created the debate: whether to retain self-sufficiency in food - the leftist agenda or to attain specialization in finished good and import food from the peripheral countries at the least cost to attain highest benefit from gain in terms of trade - the rightist agenda in a developed country’s parliament (Circular Cumulative Causation Theory, Gunnar Mydral, 1956; The Terms of Trade Fifty Years Later-Convergence and Divergence, Hans Singer, 1998, Dependency Theory, Raul Prebisch and Hans Singer). Definitely historical development process has assimilated the two extreme goals through their necessities in hard days. Draught days felt needs for irrigation and loss in competition felt need for specialization in finished goods. So, a Democratic Capitalist Welfare Economy kept both the routs open towards food self sufficiency as well as specialization in manufacturing finished goods. Examples are the historical development process of 13 Developed Countries like USA, UK, Germany and 4 Developing Countries like Argentina, Egypt etc. (Kuznets, 1971). From this angle we are going to focus upon the importance of irrigation on rural development of India