WHAT MATTERS MOST IN RURAL INDIA

A recent survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that attempted to understand the priorities of the government and match these with the kind of endorsement these got from voters explains why the government is worried on the issue of agricultural loans and how wrong some television anchors are.

The mid-term survey - 270,000 respondents, all over the age of 18 in 527 Lok Sabha constituencies, was conducted from January to April to ascertain perception on specific issues and the performance of elected representatives on those.

The charts here refer to the concerns of respondents in rural India. About 38.5 per cent of voters have considered the availability of agricultural loans as the most important issue. The other top ones are electricity for agricultural use (29.9 per cent) and subsidies (28.7 per cent). Better employment opportunities (26 per cent), irrigation (25.6 per cent) and better hospitals and health care (21.8 per cent).

Encroachment of public land, lakes, etc, strong defence and terrorism are low priorities. The survey suggests daily debates on national security, Pakistan, fundamentalism, etc, have little resonance with rural voters. They felt the government’s performance on agricultural loan availability was among the best. So was electricity for agriculture.