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Abstract
With the increasing population, demand for basic needs has been steeply rising during the past five decades in most of the developing countries. The growing populations need food, clothing, shelter, fuel and fodder for their livestock. In India, over 60-70% of the people are living in rural areas that neither have adequate land holdings nor alternate service opportunities to produce or procure these commodities. In the absence of adequate employment opportunities, the rural people are unable to generate enough wages to sustain their livelihood. As a result, 40% families, who earn less than Rs.11,000 per annum are classified as poor. Apart from lower income, rural people also suffer from shortage of clean drinking water, poor health care and illiteracy which adversely affect the quality of life. Presently, about 25% of the villages do not have assured source of drinking water for about 4-5 months during the year and about 70-75% of the water does not meet the standard prescribed by WHO