State PCS
The Community Development Programme was launched in India on:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option C — 2 October 1952
Detailed Solution
The Community Development Programme was launched on 2 October 1952, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, in 55 selected blocks across the country.
Aim of the programme:
- To bring about overall development of rural areas through the participation of the people.
- To improve agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, health, education, housing and village industries.
- To encourage self-help and cooperation among villagers.
Organisation:
- The basic unit of the programme was the "development block", covering about 100 villages.
- Each block was headed by a Block Development Officer, assisted by extension officers for different subjects.
- Village Level Workers (Gram Sevaks) worked directly with the villagers.
Inspiration:
- The programme was inspired by earlier rural reconstruction experiments, such as Rabindranath Tagore's work at Sriniketan, Gandhi's constructive programme, and the Etawah pilot project led by Albert Mayer.
- It was supported by the Ford Foundation and the United States.
Achievements:
- It created a network of development administration across rural India.
- It spread new agricultural practices and improved some rural infrastructure.
Weaknesses:
- It became a government-driven programme with limited people's participation.
- Benefits often went to richer farmers and local elites.
- The lack of effective people's participation was identified as its main weakness.
Review and the birth of Panchayati Raj:
- A committee was set up to review the working of the programme.
- Its findings led to the introduction of democratic decentralisation, that is, Panchayati Raj, in many states from 1959.
The Ministry of Community Development:
A separate Ministry of Community Development was set up, with S.K. Dey as its first minister.
Importance:
The Community Development Programme was India's first major programme for planned rural development.
Why not the other options?
- ✗15 August 1950 and 26 January 1951 are not related to the programme.
- ✗2 October 1959 is when Panchayati Raj was introduced in Rajasthan.
Quick tip
Remember: Community Development Programme = 2 October 1952 (55 blocks); development block as the basic unit.
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Panchayati Raj & Municipalities — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Panchayati Raj & Municipalities, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers local self-government in India: the Balwant Rai Mehta and Ashok Mehta committees, the 73rd Amendment on panchayats (Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule), the 74th Amendment on municipalities (Part IX-A and the Twelfth Schedule), and state election commissions and finance commissions. Questions commonly ask which state first adopted Panchayati Raj (Rajasthan, at Nagaur in 1959), which committee recommended the three-tier system, and what the 73rd and 74th Amendments provide, such as reservation for women of not less than one-third of seats. The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects and the Twelfth lists 18. Practise the Panchayati Raj and municipalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.