The book, based on unique source of information: household panel data from longitudinal village studies that had been carried out since 1975 in two villages in each of the selected three districts of India, is divided in to four parts. How the village studies were conducted and how they fit into social and agricultural research in India are discussed in chapter 2. Profiles of the study regions and villages are presented in chapter 3. Agricultural and economic development in these study villages since independence and particularly in the period 1975 to 1985 is treated in part 2. Part 3 makes more integrated microeconomic treatment of agricultural development in predominantly dryland production environments. The implications of these findings are drawn out in a concluding session of each subject matter chapter and. In a final synthesis chapter, the particular features of India''s SAT are reviewed and prospects for agricultural development assessed