Ghosh A.Sharma P.Vashisht D.Malik P.Mondal A.Mondal S.2025-01-132025-01-1320243432521https://dl.bhu.ac.in/ir/handle/123456789/2431This research pinpoints the primary socio-economic issues and inherent circumstances of rural development in Himachal Pradesh, India. It provides a critical analysis of 289 households based on the surveys conducted in 5 villages of Sirmaur district, adopted under the UBA (�Unnat Bharat Abhiyan�, transl. �Developed India initiative�). This study highlights and evaluates the significant socio-economic concerns and rural development challenges based on key factors such as population, education, employment, rural development schemes, livestock assets, property distribution, essential services and transport connectivity. The findings from this study are crucial for identifying priority areas for community capacity building and sustainable rural development including literacy rates, healthcare, and agricultural products. The study emphasizes the prudent use of existing resources and the maximisation of benefits from centrally and state-sponsored schemes for the comprehensive development of the adopted villages under UBA. Although the current initiative is based on the UBA-adopted villages, it may be applied to other rural villages of Himalayan states. This article highlights inter-variations in socio-economic issues such as healthcare, sanitation, waste management, unsustainable agriculture methods, drug misuse, unemployment, and sanitation in the UBA adopted villages in the Sirmaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India. � 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.enEnvironmental challengesHimachal PradeshRural developmentSocio-economicUBAWaste managementReview10.1007/s10708-024-11008-7