A dynamic non-agricultural sector in rural areas is increasingly being seen as a major source for generating employment in India. It is also considered to be an avenue for decentralised industrial development which can, in turn, reduce the burden on the over-stretched urban infrastructure. Indeed, during the last two decades, the share of employment in this sector has consistently increased.

This volume is a timely empirical contribution to our understanding of this process of economic diversification in rural India. Taking into account all the available evidence, it constitutes the first extensive and up-to-date analysis of the nature, trends and determinants of rural non-agricultural employment in India.

Further, it examines the inter- and intra-state variations in the levels of such activity and reviews the methodological issues involved in studying economic diversification at various levels of spatial disaggregation. Appearing at a time when India is in the process of re-evaluating and altering its development strategies, this book will be invaluable for policy-makers and social scientists interested in issues relating to employment, development strategies and economic diversification.