This paper examines the inclusiveness of growth in agriculture and the dynamics of change and inter-state variation in rural poverty in India between 1972–73 and 2004–05. The incidence of and regional variations in rural poverty increased significantly, immediately after economic reforms. Variations in rural poverty have been associated with variations in consumption, inequality, agricultural performance and agrarian structure. The benefits of growth in agriculture seem to have trickled down to the rural poor, but the strength of the trickle-down process and the inclusiveness of growth have been limited and are weakening with time. The regressive features of the agrarian structure and the process of marginalisation and proletarianisation of the peasantry seem to have aggravated rural poverty. The results offer important policy implications for the alleviation of rural poverty.
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