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Indian Economy

Notes and agro-food processing would bring prosperity to rural people and speed up economic
growth.
2. Reliable and quality electric power for all parts of the nation.

3. Education and health care for all.
4. Expansion of information and communication technology to rural areas to encourage
education and generate national wealth.

5. Development of strategic sectors–growth in space technology, nuclear technology and
defence technology.
All these areas have to be developed into missions such as: availability of high quality
uninterrupted power, Networking of rivers, Providing Urban-amenities in Rural Areas (PURA),
Second Green Revolution, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) transforming
into knowledge products and tourism.

PURA Model

It will be interesting for you to note that PURA model involves four connectivities: physical,
electronic, knowledge and thereby leading to economic connectivity to enhance the prosperity
of cluster of villages in the rural areas.
1. Under physical connectivity, you must analyse that a group of 15 to 25 villages will be
connected to each other by road. These villages connected by roads will also have a ring
road so that each one of them can utilise it. In addition to roads, you must note that
provision of electricity and transport facilities have also been involved.

2. Digital connectivity which intends to link villages with modem telecommunication and
information technology services.

Example: Public call offices, cyber cafes, etc.
3. Knowledge connectivity tries to set up on every 5 to 7 km of the circular ring road a
school, a hospital, a higher education centre, etc.

4. Economic connectivity intends to set up within this group of village’s good marketing
facilities so that all the commodities and services of daily use can be obtained and the rural
people can sell their produce in these markets.
Substantially based upon the region and the State of present development, PURA can be
categorised into three different categories, viz. Type A, Type B and Type C-Pura clusters. The
characteristics of these types are as follows:
(a) Type A cluster is situated closer to an urban area having minimal road connectivity,
limited infrastructure, limited support-school, primary health centre.

(b) Type B cluster is situated close to urban area but has sparsely spread infrastructure and no
connectivity.
(c) Type C cluster located far interior with no infra-structure, no connectivity and no basic
amenities.
You may already be aware of the fact that at the CEO Summit organised on the occasion of the
Fifteenth birthday celebrations of Mata Amritanandmayi (Amma), President A.PJ. Abdul Kalam
said:
“PURA is one of the mechanisms which will be utilised for transforming our villages into productive
economic zones.”

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