From Village Artisans to Industrial Clusters: Agendas and Policy Gaps in Indian Rural Industrialization.

This paper offers a broad strategic assessment of the experience of rural industrialization in India. It does so from a policy perspective with the aim eventually of highlighting specific outstanding policy issues. Rural and small-scale industrialization (RSSI) has held a special place in Indian development thinking and policy formulation from the outset. This privileged position, however, does not derive from a universal consensus with regard to the rationale and policy framework applicable to this sub-sector. However, such has been the symbolic power and populist appeal of RSSI that it has retained its special status within diverse strategic and ideological frameworks. But how has the sub-sector performed? Is the infant industry still in need of paternalistic protection at the age of fifty? Are there any credible indications of a strategic break with longstanding policy frameworks inherited from the past? Can any crucial policy gaps be identified? How well does rural small-scale industry satisfy the extensive developmental claims made by its proponents? These are the general questions addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]