Micro Finance is also called micro credit, it is a financial service that offers loans, savings and insurance to entrepreneurs and small business owners who do not have access to banks or investors.

Cottage industry are carried out by artisans in their own homes, these industries are traditional, with no or little power.

(i) It is difficult to identify who are underemployed.
(ii) Many are employed below their productive capacity.
(iii) Even if they are withdrawn from work, the output will not diminish.
(iv) Disguised unemployment is also called concealed unemployment.

(i) SHG is an economically homogenous group formed through a process of self-selection based on the affinity of its members.
(ii) Most SHGs are women's groups with membership ranging between 10 and 20.
(iii) SHGs have well defined rules and by-laws, hold regular meetings and maintain records and savings and credit discipline.
(iv) SHGs are self-managed institutions characterised by participatory and collective decision making.

(i) RRBs came into existence in 1975.
(ii) They develop the rural economy by providing credit and other facilities to the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs.
(iii) RRBs are set up by the joint efforts of the Centre and State governments and commercial banks.
(iv) At present there are 64 RRBs.
(v) The RRBs confine their lending only to the weaker sections and their lending rates are at par with the prevailing rate of co-operative societies.

Subsidiary Occupation: To reduce seasonal unemployment, rural people should take subsidiary occupation. Loans should be granted and proper arrangements should be made for marketing their products.
Rural works programme: Construction and maintenance of roads, digging of drains, canals should be planned during off season to provide gainful employment to the unemployed.
Irrigation facilities: Since rainfall is uncertain irrigation facilities should be expanded to enable the farmers to follow multiple cropping which would create additional jobs.
Rural industrialization: To create employment new industries should be set up in rural areas by the government but private sector would not do this.
Technical Education: Employment oriented courses should be introduced in schools and colleges to help the literate youth to start their own units.

Introduction:
Rural indebtedness refers to the situation where the rural people are unable to repay the loan accumulated over a period.
Causes:
Poverty of farmers:
The vicious circle of poverty forces the farmers to borrow for consumption, cultivation and celebrations. Poverty, debt and high rates of interest hold the farmer in the grip of money lenders.
Failure of monsoon:
So it is difficult to identify good years to repay their debts.
Litigation:
(i) Due to land disputes, litigation in the court compels them to borrow heavily
(ii) Being uneducated and ignorant they are caught in the litigation process and lose their savings.
Money lenders-high interest rate:
The rate of interest charged by the local money lenders is very high and the compounding of interest leads to indebtedness of the farmer.

Introduction:
Rural economy refers to villages and rural community refers to people living in villages.
Features of rural economy:
Village is an institution:
(i) Village is a primary institution and it satisfies almost all the needs of the rural community.
(ii) The rural people have a feeling of belongingness and a sense of unity towards each other.
Dependence on agriculture:
The rural economy depends on nature and agricultural activities.
Life of rural people:
(i) Life style in village is very simple. Education, housing, health and sanitation, transport and communication, banking, roads and markets are limited and unavailable.
(ii) Rural people rely on faith, superstitions and traditional cultural practices.
(iii) The methods of production, social organization, political mobilization, rural sector is extremely weak and backward.
(iv) The incidence of alcohol drinking has gone up.
Population density:
Population density is very low. Houses are scattered in the entire village.
Employment:
There is unemployment, seasonal unemployment and underemployment.
Poverty:
(i) Basic needs of the people like food, clothing and shelter are not met
(ii) About 22 crores of people in rural areas are poor and live below poverty line.
Indebtedness:
(i) People in rural areas are highly indebted owing to poverty, under employment, lack of farm and non-farm employment opportunities, low wage employment, seasonality in production, poor marketing network.
(ii) Since formal loan facilities are not available to the villagers, they depend on local money lenders who squeeze the villagers.
Rural income
Large proportion of labourers are underemployed and the scope for increasing their income is limited.
Dependency:
Rural households are largely dependent on social grants and remittances from family members working in urban areas.
Dualism:
The co-existence of features of organised and unorganised, traditional and modern, regulated and unregulated, poor and rich, skilled and unskilled is very common in rural areas.
Inequality:
There is inequality in distribution of income, wealth and assets. Land, livestock are owned by a few people. Landlords dominate the rural activities.
Migration:
Rural people migrate from villages to urban areas for gainful employment. Lack of basic amenities in rural areas also push the people to urban areas.