ABSTRACT
This chapter hinges on the premise that the real cause of state's failure and virtual nonperformance on the development front is rooted in the breakdown of the system and the "default" of government. It offers a diagnosis of developmental issues and problems facing South Asia in the context of existing theories and paradigms of development. The chapter deals with cultural and ecological terrain of the region that poses enormous challenges to ruling elites in the proper conception, formulation, and implementation of development programmes. It offers a tentative set of alternative strategies to tide over crisis of governance. In India, rural development has been identified as one of the priority areas in the Ninth Five-Year Plan, providing greater opportunities for rural employment, extension of primary health services, mass literacy, and better amenities for transportation and communication. For instance, the central government of India enacted recently a comprehensive PanchayatiRaj Act to ensure the grassroots participation from a village panchayat to a ZilaParishad.
