Issues related to economic development

1. MODULE 3
ISSUES RELATED TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

2. Social mobility describes the movement or opportunities for movement
between different social groups, and the advantages and disadvantages that
go with this in terms of income, security of employment, opportunities for
advancement etc.
Social mobility may refer to classes, ethnic groups, or entire nations, and may
measure health status, literacy, or education; however, more commonly it refers
to individuals or families, and to their change in income.

3. Social mobility matters because:
1. Equality of opportunity is an aspiration across the political spectrum.
2. Lack of social mobility implies inequality of opportunity;
3. economic efficiency depends on making the best use of the talents of
everyone;
4. And social cohesion and inclusion may be more likely to be achieved
where people believe they can improve the quality of life they and their
children enjoy through their abilities, talents and efforts.

4. Question: is there some possibility of social mobility, or
progression from one social level to another?
Ans: Yes, but the degree to which this is possible varies
considerably from society to society.

5. • Social stratification describes the socioeconomic levels of a society as “layers,” with the
wealthiest and most powerful citizens being at the top. Typically, the top layer of society tends to
have lots of property, as well as prestige and social influence.
• Sociologists who study stratification have identified open class systems and compared them to
closed class systems.
• In an open class system, the hierarchical social status of a person is achieved through their effort.
• These types of class systems are achievement-based economic system with social mobility and
relations between classes.
• In an open class system, there is no distinct line between the classes, and there is a wide range of
positions within each status level.
• Core industrial nations seem to have more of an ideal open class system than less industrialized
countries, in which there are fewer opportunities for economic advancement.

6. • Compared with industrialized open systems, pre-industrial societies
have mostly been found to be closed class systems where there is low
social mobility.
• People in such societies may be confined to their ancestral occupations,
and their social status is largely prescribed by status at birth. A society
in which traditional or religious caste systems dominate, opportunity
for social mobility is unlikely.

7. Factors Responsible for Social Mobility:
1. Motivation:
Each individual has a desire not only to have a better way of living but also
wants to improve upon his social stand. In open system it is possible to
achieve any status. This openness motivates people to work hard and improve
upon the skills so that one can attain higher social status. Without such
motivation and efforts on the part of the individual social mobility is
impossible.

8. 2. Achievements and Failures:
Achievement here refers to extra ordinary, usually unexpected performance,
which attracts the attention of a wider public to the abilities of a person. Not all
achievements will result in social mobility. Achievements affect status only if
they are remarkable. For example, a poor man who has acquired wealth or an
unknown writer who has won a literary prize will improve his status.

9. • Failures and misdeeds have a similar effect on downward mobility.
• Fraudulent bankruptcy will remove a member of the upper classes from
blue books; he will receive no dinner invitations from his peers and he will
become ineligible as a marriage partner. If he is already married, his wife
may divorce him. He will have to resign from his clubs and all positions he
holds. But he will not become a member of the lowest stratum, although it
will be difficult for him to find new association.

10. 3. Education:
• Education not only helps an individual to acquire knowledge but is also a
passport for occupational position for higher prestige.
• It is only after acquiring minimum formal education that individual can
aspire to occupy higher positions.
• It is through education that in modern India the members of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes are not only able to change their traditional
occupation but have also started occupying jobs of higher prestige.
• In the modern industrial society in which statuses can be achieved,
education is basic requirement.

11. 4. Skills and Training:
• Each society makes provision to impart skill and training to the younger generation.
To acquire skill and training one has to spend a lot of time as well as money.
• Why these persons spend money and time? The reason being that society gives
incentives to such persons. When they complete their training, they are entitled to
high positions, which are far better than those positions which they might have taken
without such training.
• Society not only assigns higher social status but also gives higher economic rewards
and other privileges to those persons who have these training.
• Keeping in view these incentives people undergo these training with a hope to move
up in the social ladder. In other words, skills and training facilitate in improvement
of the position, this leading to social mobility.

12. 5.Migration:
• Migration also facilitates social mobility.
• People migrate from one place to another either due to pull or push
factors.
• A particular place may not have opportunities and facilities to
improve upon. Hence, people are forced to migrate to other places to
earn their livelihood.
• At new places, where they migrate, may have different openings and
opportunities.

13. • The pull factors attract the people because they do not have those facilities at
their place of residence and the new place attracts them by providing these
facilities, so that after acquiring new skills and knowledge they could occupy
better positions.
• People migrate from villages to cities because urban centres have institutions of
higher status as well as opportunities for jobs. People come to urban areas to
acquire education and skills and occupy higher positions than their parents and
brothers who continue to live in villages.
• In this way we find that both push and pull factors lead to migration which
subsequently facilitates social mobility.

14. 6. Industrialization:
• Industrial Revolution ushered in a new social system in which people are
given status according to their ability and training.
• No importance was given to their caste, race, religion and ethnicity.
Industrialization, resulted in mass production at cheaper rate. This forced
the artisans out of their work.
• In search of jobs they migrated to industrial towns.

15. • They acquired new vocational training and got jobs in industries. With
experience and training they moved up in the social ladder.
• In the industrial society, the statuses are achieved, whereas in the
traditional society like India, the statuses are ascribed according to
birth. Hence industrialization facilitates greater social mobility.

16. 7. Urbanization:
In the cities there are more people, they have formal relations. People do
not know each other intimately. Urban centres are marked by anonymity.
People are close to their friends and relatives only. Urban settlements
provide secrecy to individual’s caste and background. Individual’s position
is largely dependent upon his education, occupation and income rather than
his background.
If an individual has higher education, income and is engaged in occupation
of higher prestige, he occupies high social status irrespective of his caste.
Urbanization facilitates social mobility by removing those factors which
hinder social mobility.

17. 8. Legislation:
• The enactment of new laws can also facilitate social mobility.
• When Zamindari Abolition Act was passed, most of the tenant
cultivators became owner cultivators which indicates improvement in
their status i.e. from tenants to owner cultivators.
• Similarly, the legal provision for reservation of jobs and promotion
for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has also helped in social
mobility.
• Reservation with regard to admission in professional college have a
large number of individuals from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes to improve upon their status.

18. • Similarly, the judicial system by passing certain judgments may also
facilitate social mobility.
• Hindu Marriage Act in different ways has enhanced the status of women.
• Similarly, Hindu Succession Act has given equal rights to the daughter in
the family property.
• Racial Anti-Discrimination Act of America has facilitated social mobility
of persons of Black race as well as women. In this way we find that legal
provisions also facilitate social mobility.

19. 9. Politicization:
• With education and greater exposure to mass media of communication as
well as greater contacts have made people aware about their rights.
• The political parties also educate the people about their rights. To
achieve their rights people unite and force the authority in power to
accept their demands.
• These persons may use agitations, strikes etc. as methods of attaining the
desired goals.
• The political party to get votes provides a number of concessions. With
the help of these new concessions and provisions, they improve upon
their social status.

20. 10. Modernization:
• The process of modernization involves use of scientific knowledge and
modern technology. It also refers to rationality and secular way of life.
• With the improvement in technology, people engaged in occupations of
low prestige like scavengers discard their traditional occupations and take
up occupations which are not dirty and have no polluting effects.
• In this way, they change their position upward.
• Similarly, the level of development of a country also facilitates or hinders
social mobility.

21. • The less developed and traditional societies continue with old system of
stratification and with accretive statuses.
• Whereas the developed and modern societies paved the way for greater
opportunities and competition, it is only in the developed countries that
there is a greater possibility of achieved statuses. In other words,
modernization facilitates social mobility.

22. Patterns of social mobility
Horizontal mobility
 This involves moving within the same status category.
 An example of this is a nurse who leaves one hospital to take a position as a nurse at another
hospital.
 Under this type of social mobility, a person changes his or her occupation but the overall social
standing remains the same.
 Certain occupations like Doctor, Engineer, and Professor may enjoy the same status but when an
engineer changes his occupation from engineer to teaching engineering, he has horizontally
moved from one occupational category to another. But no change has taken place in the system
of social stratification.
 In other words, while explaining horizontal mobility we are mainly referring to movement of
individuals from one position to another of more or less equal prestige.

23. Vertical mobility
• In contrast, involves moving from one social level to another.
• A promotion in rank in the Army is an example of upward mobility, while a demotion in
rank is downward mobility. In simple words, vertical mobility stands for change of
social position either upward or downward, which can be labelled as ascending or
descending type of mobility.
• When a big businessman meets with losses in his business and is declared bankrupt, he
occupies a low status. On the other hand, if a small businessman with occupational skills
of money and manipulation becomes an industrialist he occupies a higher position in the
social ladder. Hence his position improves in the hierarchical order.

24. Intra generational mobility (“within” a generation)
• It is defined as change in social status over a single lifetime. It is also termed career
mobility, refers to a change in an individual's social standing, especially in the workforce,
such as occurs when an individual works his way up the corporate ladder.
• A person may start his career as a clerk. He acquires more education and skills. Over a period of
time, he becomes an IAS officer or a Professor. In this way he moves up and occupies a higher
social position than the one with which he had started his career.
• His brother may have also started his career as a clerk but did not occupy higher position in his
life span and continued to remain at the same position. Hence, within the same generation we
find that one brother changes his position and other brother does not.

25. Intergenerational mobility
• It refers to a change in social standing across generations, such as occurs when a person from a
lower‐class family graduates from medical school .
• This type of mobility means that one generation changes its social status in contrast to preceding
generation. However, this mobility may be upward or downward e.g. people of lower caste or class
may provide facilities to their children to get higher education, training and skills.
• With the help of these skills the younger generation may get employment in higher position. If the
father is a shoemaker but his son after acquiring education becomes a clerk or a doctor or an engineer,
this would be called upward inter- generational mobility.
• Similarly, a family of Brahmins may be engaged on traditional occupation of teaching and performing
rituals but its younger generation is neither intelligent nor follows the family occupation. They become
daily wagers then the younger generation has downward inter-generational mobility.

26. Occupational Mobility:
• Occupational mobility means change from one occupation to another.
• Different occupations are hierarchically arranged because the incumbent of these
occupations gets different economic rewards and enjoys different power, prestige and
privileges based on the economic returns, authority and prestige.
• These occupations are stratified or hierarchically arranged.
• When a person or a group of persons move from occupations of lower prestige to
occupations of higher prestige, this is called Upward Vertical Mobility.
• Similarly if an individual or a group of individuals from occupations of higher prestige
take up occupations of lower prestige, then this occupational mobility is called Downward
Vertical Mobility.

27. Structural mobility and individual mobility-
 Opportunity for movement in social class that is attributable to changes in the social structure of a
society, rather than to changes in an individual. Major upheavals and changes in society can enhance
large numbers of people's opportunities to move up the social ladder at the same time. This form of
mobility is termed structural mobility.
 Industrialization, increases in education, and postindustrial computerization have allowed large groups
of Americans since 1900 to improve their social status and find higher‐level jobs than did their parents.
 Nevertheless, not everyone moves into higher‐status positions. Individual characteristics—such as
race, ethnicity, gender, religion, level of education, occupation, place of residence, health, and so
on—determine individual mobility.
 In the United States, being a member of a racial minority, female, or a disabled person have
traditionally limited the opportunities for upward mobility.

28. Absolute social mobility and Relative social mobility
• A distinction can be drawn between absolute social mobility, which refers to the total
observed movement of people between classes, and relative social mobility, which is
an estimate of the chance of upward or downward movement of a member of one
social class in comparison with a member from another class.
• An example of absolute social mobility is when a region’s economic development
provides education to a social group that previously did not have access to education,
thus raising the group’s literacy level and socioeconomic status.
• Relative social mobility might refer to the opportunities presented to a middle class
child born in a particular area of the United States, who might be predicted to attain a
college level education and a maximum income of $80,000, for example.

29. The barriers/tensions to more social mobility
The determinants of and barriers to relative social mobility are not well understood. Potential
explanatory factors include:
1. Educational attainment and socio economic background -Across all countries family and
socio-economic background is a major influence on a person’s level of education and earnings,
but the impact of parental education, or lack of it, on a child’s future prospects is particularly
marked in southern European countries and the UK..Encouraging greater social mix in the
classroom is one of the ways government policy can help children from disadvantaged
backgrounds improve their prospects, according to the study.
2. Segregating pupils too early on the basis of academic ability is found to undermine social
mobility. By delaying selection until the age of 16 instead of 10 as is currently the case in some
countries, the influence of the school socio-economic environment on pupils’ academic
performance could be reduced by as much as two-thirds.

30. 3. childhood poverty and associated psychological and behavioral development;
4. the family and the strategies families adopt to support their children, including access to
financial, social and cultural capital i.e. not just money but values, behaviors and networks of
contacts that affect access to opportunities;
5. Attitudes, expectations and aspirations, including aversion to risk; and
6. Economic and other barriers which some groups use to “hoard opportunities” e.g. anti-
competitive practices which limit access to professions such as the law and may discriminate
against particular groups.
7. The study also finds that social mobility between generations tends to be lower in more
unequal societies. It says redistributive tax and benefit policies aimed at providing income
support or access to education for disadvantaged families may reduce the handicaps of a poorer
or less well educated background.

31. Unit 2: Endogenous/sustainable development solutions in the fields of
agriculture, energy & tourism
Balancing the need to utilize assets and furthermore rationing them for
what’s in store is called a manageable turn of events.
The five principles of sustainable development are as follows:
1.Conservation of the ecosystem or the environment.
2.Conservation of biodiversity of the planet
3.Sustainable development of the society
4.Conservation of human resources
5.Population control and management

32. (1) Inter-generational equity;
(2) Use and conservation of natural resources;
(3) Environmental protection;
(4) The precautionary principle;
(5) The ‘Polluter Pays’ principle;
(6) Principle of liability to help and co-operate;
(7) Poverty eradication; and
(8) Principle of ‘public trust’.

33. SDS in agriculture
 Sustainable agriculture is a type of agriculture that focuses on producing long-term crops and
livestock while having minimal effects on the environment. This type of agriculture tries to find
a good balance between the need for food production and the preservation of the ecological
system within the environment.
 In addition to producing food, there are several overall goals associated with sustainable
agriculture, including conserving water, reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and
promoting biodiversity in crops grown and the ecosystem. Sustainable agriculture also focuses on
maintaining economic stability of farms and helping farmers improve their techniques and quality
of life.

34. Some crisis that brought about the SDG in agriculture
 Most people would prefer the natural food that is free of chemicals and artificial
enhancements. Unfortunately, the majority of food we consume is produced using
industrialized agriculture, which relies heavily on a variety of chemicals and artificial
enhancements, such as pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms leading to
soil pollution, soil fertility depletion, microorganism reduction, water pollution.
 Also health issues with the use of pesticides
 Usage of a lot of water
 Leads to a lot of waste (30% wasted, methane gas from the waste)
 Although industrialized agriculture has made it possible to produce large quantities of food,
due to the negative aspects of this technique, there has been a shift towards sustainable
agriculture.

35. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL METHODS
 Rotating crops and embracing diversity:Planting a variety of crops can have many benefits, including
healthier soil and improved pest control. Crop diversity practices include intercropping (growing a mix of
crops in the same area) and complex multi-year crop rotations.
 Planting cover crops: Cover crops, like clover or hairy vetch, are planted during off-season times when
soils might otherwise be left bare. These crops protect and build soil health by preventing erosion,
replenishing soil nutrients, and keeping weeds in check, reducing the need for herbicides.
 Reducing or eliminating tillage: Traditional plowing (tillage) prepares fields for planting and prevents
weed problems, but can cause a lot of soil loss. No-till or reduced till methods, which involve inserting
seeds directly into undisturbed soil, can reduce erosion and improve soil health.
 Applying integrated pest management (IPM): A range of methods, including mechanical and biological
controls, can be applied systematically to keep pest populations under control while minimizing use of
chemical pesticides.

36.  Integrating livestock and crops: Industrial agriculture tends to keep plant and animal production
separate, with animals living far from the areas where their feed is produced, and crops growing far
away from abundant manure fertilizers. A growing body of evidence shows that a smart integration of
crop and animal production can be a recipe for more efficient, profitable farms.
 Adopting agroforestry practices: By mixing trees or shrubs into their operations, farmers can
provide shade and shelter to protect plants, animals, and water resources, while also potentially
offering additional income.
 Soil Enrichment: Soil is a central component of agricultural ecosystems. Healthy soil is full of life,
which can often be killed by the overuse of pesticides. Good soils can increase yields as well as
creating more robust crops. It is possible to maintain and enhance the quality of soil in many ways.
Some examples include leaving crop residue in the field after a harvest, and the use of composted
plant material or animal manure.

37.  Natural Pest Predators: In order to maintain effective control over pests, it is important to view the
farm as an ecosystem as opposed to a factory. For example, many birds and other animals are in fact
natural predators of agricultural pests. Managing your farm so that it can harbor populations of these
pest predators is an effective as well as a sophisticated technique. The use of chemical pesticides can
result in the indiscriminate killing of pest predators.

38. Organic Farming
Agroforestry
Natural Farming
System of rice intensification
Precision Farming
Conservation Agriculture
Conservation Agriculture
Crop Rotation and intercropping
Cover Crops and mulching
Integrated pest management
Vermicomposting
Biodynamic Farming
Contour Farming
Integrated Farming systems
Rainwater harvesting artificial recharge of groundwater
Floating Farming
Permaculture.

39. Benefits of sustainable agriculture
1. Contributes to environmental conservation
2. Prevents pollution
3. Reduction in cost
4 .Biodiversity
5. Beneficial for animals
6. Economically beneficial for farmers
7. Social equality
8. Beneficial for environment

40. Lifecycle of a tourist destination
 Exploration -At this stage the destination is visited by small number of tourists who are
keen to explore cultural and natural beauty of the place but the number of visitors is
limited due to accessibility difficulties and lack of facilities. Here the attraction of the
place yet remains unmodified by tourism.
 Involvement -In the next stage of involvement advertising and local initiatives are seen
as the element of promotion of the destination which results in increase of the tourist
number with the pressure on the public sector to develop infrastructure.
 Development- Next step in the cycle is development in which further initiatives for
development of facilities are made by national and multinational companies. In this stage
the control of the public sector is necessary as the popularity of the destination and
increasing number of visitors may not only be the reason of success but also cause failure
and “the destination may suffer a change in quality through problems of over-use and
deterioration of facilities”.

41.  Consolidation -The consolidation is the next level of tourism life cycle
when tourism becomes a great part of the local community.
 Stagnation -Next step of stagnation occurs when after reaching peak
numbers of visitors the destination is no longer popular and only
conservative visitors are still coming back. In this stage the
environmental, economical as well as socio-cultural problems can be
seen as the reason.
 Decline- The last stage is decline where effort is need to maintain the
tourist arrivals by introducing new types of facilities like for example
casinos.

42. Sustainable tourism
 Sustainable tourism means tourism which is economically viable but does not
destroy the resources on which the future of tourism will depend, notably the
physical environment and the social fabric of the host community.
 Sustainable tourism is meant to make the development of tourism ecologically
supportable in the long term. The very importance of sustainable tourism lies
in its motives to conserve the resources and increase the value of local
culture and tradition.
 Sustainable tourism is a responsible tourism intending to generate employment
and income along with alleviating any deeper impact on environment and local
culture.

43. CHARACTERISTICS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
 Sustainable Tourism tries its utmost to maintain the importance of local culture
and tradition
 ST is informatory, as it doesn't only let tourist know about the destinations but also
it helps locals knowing about the culture and civilization of tourists.
 This kind of tourism is aimed to conserve the resources of destinations where one
is visiting to
 ST seeks deeper involvement of locals, which provide local people an
opportunity and make their living. Above all, Sustainable Tourism stresses
pointedly upon integrity of the tourist places.

44.  Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant
monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective
measures whenever necessary.
 ST should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a
meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about
sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them.

45. Bramwell and Lane (1993) outlined four basic principles of
sustainable ecotourism development in line with the
sustainable development concept:
(i) holistic planning and strategy making;
(ii) preservation of essential ecological processes;
(iii) protection of both human heritage and biodiversity; and
(iv) development to ensure that productivity can be sustained over the
long term for future generations.

46. Strategies of Sustainable Tourism:
Sustainable tourism is different from conventional tourism and accordingly the
strategies also differ. Conventional tourism plans are mostly dominated by
the growth requirements of the tourism industry. They are either marketing
plans or capital investment plans and both are usually designed to increase
traffic, visitor numbers, turnover and job creation.
Further, they seek to exploit national and community resources with little
regard for community, culture or enterprise. On the other hand, sustainable
tourism plans are based on a wider, more holistic, regional analysis. The plans are
based on the concepts which have been refined and tested in practice in many places.

47. Their hallmarks are:
1. An analysis of an area’s social, economic, ecological and cultural needs.
2. An analysis of an area’s tourism assets and the constraints on future tourism
development.
3. A discussion of how best tourism could be used as a tool for social, economic, ecological
and cultural regeneration.
4. A strong measure of local participation in both the plan-making process and in any
ongoing decision-making.
5. A careful consideration of the visitor carrying capacities, and the type and scale of
developments suitable for each part of the region. This may include decisions to allocate
some areas for intensive use, to make some areas less accessible on conservation grounds
and to set overall limits to growth.

48. Sustainable tourism strategies should be produced keeping in view some
key issues. The person or team formulating the strategy should have
skills not only in tourism development but also in economic,
ecological and social analysis.
Wide consultations amongst all interest groups are essential and
these consultations should include trade and business,
transport, farmers, administrators and the custodians of the
natural and historic assets of the area. Glasnost (“openness”) has a
very special role to play. Tourism relies on local goodwill more than any
other industry.

49. The local population must be happy with their visitors, and secure
in the knowledge that the visitor influx will not overwhelm their lives,
increase their housing costs, and impose new and unwelcome value
systems on them. Openness can be achieved by public discussions, by
careful use of the press, radio and television, and by the development of a
two-way dialogue with the community.
The strategy-making process should not be a once-only affair. It
has to be an evolving long-term enterprise, able to cope with
change, and able to admit to its own mistakes and shortcomings.
It is the beginning of a partnership between business, government and
cultural and conservation interests. With these key issues included,
sustainable tourism strategies would produce rewarding results and
sustain tourism benefiting all.

50. ECOTOURISM:
Ecotourism is a form of sustainable tourism – all forms of tourism
can become more sustainable but not all forms of tourism can be
ecotourism. “Ecotourism is environmentally responsible travel
and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order
to enjoy, study and appreciate nature (and any accompanying
cultural features – both past and present), that promotes
conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for
beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local
populations”

51. SUSTAINABLE USE OF ENERGY
Non-renewable forms of energy
 Coal- cheap, reliable/ pollution, mining dangers
 Petroleum- cheap, reliable, transportable, / pollution, oil
spills
 Natural gas - underground, huge reserves, fracking- cheap,
reliable/ water loss, mini earthquakes, pollution
 Nuclear

52. Renewable sources of energy
 Hydropower- dams, but its dangers- other-Tidal and wave energy
projects
 Wind- wind energy from long back, ships, windmills. Now wind
farms
 Solar-photovoltaic cells- sun light and heat, cost reduced very
much. India becomes lowest-cost producer of solar
power,Further, the costs of setting up solar PV projects were
found to have dropped at the fastest pace – 80 per cent – in India
between 2010 and 2018.
 Biomass-biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, wood and wood
waste, biogasfrom landfills, and municipal solid waste.
 Geothermal

53. Unit 3. Role of local leadership in social mobilization and implementation of
policies
Mobilization can be understood as organizing groups for an active service. People
can be organized for various reasons ranging from environmental conservation
to human rights. Through media, we read and hear of so many of these efforts.
Social mobilization can be defined as an instance where people get together for a
particular purpose. By people, we not only include individuals, but also organizations,
groups, various movements as well. These groups get together to achieve a specific
target.

54. Community mobilization is a process through which action is stimulated by
a community itself that is planned, carried out, and evaluated by a community's
individuals, groups, and organizations on a participatory and sustained basis to
improve the health, hygiene and education levels so as to enhance the
overall standard of living in the community.
Hence, the key difference between social and community mobilization is that
while social mobilization brings together people coming from various
backgrounds in the society to achieve a single goal, in community mobilization,
it is the members of the community that are brought together

55. Goal:
Social mobilization: The goal can either be to raise awareness on a particular issue or
to demand a change.
Community mobilization: The goal is to improve the conditions of the living
standards of people in the community.
People:
Social mobilization: People can come from different contexts but are of the same
society.
Community mobilization: People belong to a single community.

56. Efficient leaders perform the common tasks in
the strategy making and executing process. They
develop a strategic vision and mission, sets goals and
objectives, craft the strategies, execute it and then
evaluate the performance. ... In rural community
development, leader perform the various roles in different
stages.

57. The Power of Local Leadership
• Local leaders within a community who care deeply about helping the community and have the
ability to influence the people living there will have the greatest impact.
• Potential leaders include mayors, fire chiefs, school superintendents, religious leaders, business
leaders and other well-known community figures. These leaders are ideally positioned to improve
community preparedness because they can effectively use their influence and connections as a
means of motivating direct action.
• In addition, local leaders have the deepest understanding of their respective localities.
Therefore, they have a tremendous opportunity to bridge the gap between their communities and
state officials to devise the most appropriate way to deploy resources during a crisis. Involving
local leaders in the planning process allows them to relay information on preparedness to
the people, and these efforts ultimately result in a more resilient community.

58. • When disaster strikes, information tends to pass from the highest governmental
levels down to the local level. This hierarchy leaves community members in a vulnerable
position without access to the decision making process. To address this problem, citizens
and local leaders must be involved in the planning stages before disaster strikes.

59. Local leaders should seek to serve two important
functions:
1) a bridge between citizens, government officials,
and crisis managers, and
2) a moderator for community discussions on issues
of preparedness.

60. • In both of these contexts, it is important for the local leader to emphasize the importance of
preparedness, gather information, prioritize community needs, inform government bodies,
collaborate to produce a plan, and relay preparedness information back to community members.
• The goal of this process is not to prescribe a specific plan of action but rather to engage
community members and leaders as key stakeholders in the process of customized disaster
planning.
• This method gives individual communities the freedom to formulate a plan for disaster that
accounts for the heterogeneity and unique problems of the locality.
• So, when disaster strikes, citizens have the tools to recover earlier and faster since they do not
have to wait for plans to come down the chain of command.
• This integration of efforts allows communities to decide upon the most appropriate disaster plan
for them, as well as the type and amount of resources needed during a disaster.

61. Unit 4. Social Audit
• A social audit is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately improving
an organization’s social and ethical performance.
• A social audit helps to narrow gaps between vision/goal and reality, between efficiency
and effectiveness.
• It is a technique to understand, measure, verify, report on and to improve the social
performance of the organization.
• Social auditing creates an impact upon governance. It values the voice of stakeholders,
including marginalized/poor groups whose voices are rarely heard.
• Social auditing is taken up for the purpose of enhancing local governance, particularly
for strengthening accountability and transparency in local bodies.

62. The key difference between development and social audit is that a social audit focuses
on the neglected issue of social impacts, while a development audit has a broader
focus including environment and economic issues, such as the efficiency of a project or
programme.
Objectives of social audit
1. Assessing the physical and financial gaps between needs and resources available for
local development.
2. Creating awareness among beneficiaries and providers of local social and productive
services.
3. Increasing efficacy and effectiveness of local development programmes.
4. Scrutiny of various policy decisions, keeping in view stakeholder interests and
priorities, particularly of rural poor.
5. Estimation of the opportunity cost for stakeholders of not getting timely access to
public services.

63. Advantages of social audit
(a) Trains the community on participatory local planning.
(b) Encourages local democracy.
(c) Encourages community participation.
(d) Benefits disadvantaged groups.
(e) Promotes collective decision making and sharing responsibilities.
(f) Develops human resources and social capital

64. To be effective, the social auditor must have the right to:
1. seek clarifications from the implementing agency about any decision-making, activity,
scheme, income and expenditure incurred by the agency;
2. consider and scrutinize existing schemes and local activities of the agency; and
3. access registers and documents relating to all development activities undertaken by the
implementing agency or by any other government department.
This requires transparency in the decision-making and activities of the implementing
agencies. In a way, social audit includes measures for enhancing transparency by enforcing
the right to information in the planning and implementation of local development activities.

65. Public documents for social audit
(a) All budget allocations, beneficiary lists, muster rolls, bills, vouchers, accounts, etc.
must be available for public scrutiny.
(b) All applications for licenses/permits and certificates issued by local self-
government institutions must have a serial number. Registers indicating date of
application and date of clearance in each case should be available for reference by any
applicant. If possible, copies should be publicly displayed.
(c) Public assessment of tax, exemptions, grants, etc., to ensure there are no complaints
of undue preferential treatment.

66. Steps in social audit in local bodies
1. Clarity of purpose and goal of the local elected body.
2. Identify stakeholders with a focus on their specific roles and duties. Social auditing
aims to ensure a say for all stakeholders. It is particularly important that marginalized
social groups, which are normally excluded, have a say on local development issues
and activities and have their views on the actual performance of local elected bodies.
3. Definition of performance indicators which must be understood and accepted by all.
Indicator data must be collected by stakeholders on a regular basis.
4. Regular meetings to review and discuss data/information on performance indicators.

67. 5. Follow-up of social audit meeting with the panchayat body reviewing
stakeholders’ actions, activities and viewpoints, making commitments on changes
and agreeing on future action as recommended by the stakeholders.
6. Establishment of a group of trusted local people including elderly people, teachers
and others who are committed and independent, to be involved in the verification
and to judge if the decisions based upon social audit have been implemented.
7. The findings of the social audit should be shared with all local stakeholders. This
encourages transparency and accountability. A report of the social audit meeting
should be distributed for Gram Panchayat auditing. In addition, key decisions
should be written on walls and boards and communicated orally.

68. Key factors for successful social audit
 Level of information shared with and involvement of stakeholders, particularly of
the rural poor, women, and other marginalized sections.
 Commitment, seriousness and clear responsibilities for follow-up actions by
elected members of the Gram Panchayat.
 Involvement of key facilitators in the process.

69. How to enhance local capacities for social audit
 Organization of a mass campaign to increase public awareness about the meaning,
scope, purpose and objectives of social audit.
 Establishment of a team of social audit experts in each district who are responsible
for training social audit committee members (stakeholders).
 Implementation of training programmes on social auditing methods - conducting
and preparing social audit reports, and presentation at Gram Sabha meetings.

70. Social development monitoring (SDM): a social audit process
SDM is a periodic observation activity by socially disadvantaged groups as local
citizens who are project participants or target beneficiaries. It could also take the
form of action intended to enhance participation, ensure inclusiveness, articulation
of accountability, responsiveness and transparency by implementing agencies or
local institutions, with a declared purpose of making an impact on their socio-
economic status