Rural Indebtedness in North East India: an Empirical Analysis with Reference to Nagaland

Rural India today, is plagued with severe debt problem. It has become a serious threat to economic, social and political life of rural India. Farmers have been killing themselves due to chronic debt and depression and the problem has deeply penetrated in the agrarian sector of the country, despite numerous steps taken by the government of India. This book investigates nature and magnitude of rural indebtedness in Nagaland, one of the less developed states located in North Eastern part of India. It makes an attempt to find if rural people in Nagaland have been facing the problem of indebtedness. The aim of this book, undertaken during 2006-07, is to estimate the extent and magnitude of rural indebtedness in Nagaland; assess the level of indebtedness according to size of landholdings; identify the causes of rural indebtedness and examine the sources of credit to rural households. The book would be useful to academicians, researchers and policy makers to understand the nature and extent of the problem inherent in agrarian sector of a country.