SUBJECT: RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING

(KHU-701)

Subject Notes

UNIT 1
Rural Planning & Development

Prepared by: Dr. Bhupender Sharma (Associate Professor, EN)

KHU701 Unit-1

1. Concept of Rural Development

Rural
A society or community can be classified as rural based on the criteria of:
✓ Lower population density
✓ Slow rate of social change
Development
It refers to growth, or progress. This progress or growth is gradual and had sequential phases.
It also refers to the overall movement towards greater efficiency and complex situations.

“Rural development is a process which aims at improving the well-being of people living
outside the urbanized areas. Rural development is a strategy designed to improve the
economic and social life of rural people”.
Or
“It is the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living
in rural areas”.

1.1 Scope for Improvement / Scope of rural development:

The primary areas to improve are:
• Employment opportunities: By increasing literacy rates in rural India can help in
creating more employment opportunities.
• Improving agricultural productivity: Organic farming should be incorporated to
improve outputs and profits.
• Infrastructure: The basic systems and services such as transport, water and power
supplies should drastically improve. This also leads to a social divide between urban
and rural areas.
• Caste system: Stigmas like the caste system still have a grip on rural people.
Education can help in eradicating such social evils.
• Improving banking system: People should be given access to easy credit and loans by
improving the banking system in rural areas.
• Improving rural sanitation: Indians living in rural areas defecate in the open. So
Indian government should run programs so that rural sanitation can be improved.
• Public Health
• Education and functional literacy

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2. Need of rural development

Rural development is needed in the context of overall growth and development of the Indian
economy due to the following reasons:

✓ Major share of population lives in rural areas and their development and contributions
are very much supportive for the nation building activities.
✓ Rural economy supports the urban sector by way of supplying milk, food and raw
materials. Hence backwardness of the rural sector is a major impediment to the
overall progress of the economy.
✓ Improvements in education, health and sanitation in villages can help to avoid many
urban problems namely begging, rack picking and road side slumming.
✓ Development of agriculture and allied activities are necessary for providing
employment in rural areas and improving overall food production.
✓ Rural-urban migration can be reduced if rural areas are developed.

3. Basic Elements of Rural Development

1. Basic Necessities of Life

People have certain basic needs; without which it would be impossible for them to survive.
The basic necessitates include food, clothes, shelter, basic literacy, primary health care and
security of life and property. When any one or all of them are absent or in critically short
supply, we may state that a condition of ‘absolute underdevelopment’ exists. Provision of the
basic necessities of life to everybody is the primary responsibility of all economies, whether
they are capitalist, socialist, or mixed. In this sense, we may claim that economic growth is a
necessary condition for improvement of the ‘quality of life’ or rural people, which is rural
development.

2. Self-Respect

Every person and every nation seek some sort of self-respect, dignity or honour. Absence or
denial of self-respect indicates lack of development.

3. Freedom

In this context, freedom refers to:

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• Political or ideological freedom: Political freedom is the ability of a nation’s citizens

to participate freely in the political process. It involves freedom of the majority to
influence and guide policy. For example, freedom of religion, freedom of speech.
• Economic freedom: Economic freedom, or economic liberty, is the ability of people of
a society to take economic actions. For example, free market (a free market is a
system in which the prices for goods and services are self-regulated by buyers and
sellers negotiating in an open market).
• Freedom from social slavery: As long as the society is ignorant and bound by
dogmatic beliefs, it cannot claim to have achieved the goal of ‘development’. Slavery
in any form reflects a state of underdevelopment.

4. Objectives of rural development

✓ To improve productivity and wage of rural people.
✓ To bring about a greater socio-economic equity.
✓ To bring about a spatial balance in social and economic development.
✓ To guarantee an increase in the standard of living of the rural people.
✓ To provide basic needs, elementary education, healthcare, clean drinking
water, rural roads etc.

5. Key issues in rural development

(i) Development of infrastructure

✓ There is a lack of infrastructure in rural areas.

✓ Infrastructure development like electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing, transport
facilities, etc., needs to be addressed.

(ii) Reduction of poverty

✓ The reduction of poverty is important because rural areas have the maximum poverty.
✓ Around 30% of the population is below the poverty line; this figure reduced to
21.92% in 2012.
✓ There is a serious need of taking steps for the alleviation of poverty.

(iii) Development of health facilities

✓ Rural areas lack proper health facilities.

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✓ Better health facilities are necessary for physical growth of individuals.

(iv) Development of productive resources

✓ Productive resources of each locality need to be developed to enhance employment

opportunities.
✓ It will help in diversification of production activities with a view of finding an
alternative means other than crop cultivation to sustain life.

(v) Development of human resources

✓ There is a need to improve the quality of human resources in rural areas.

✓ It can be done by improving the literacy rate, skill development, industrial training,
etc.
6. Importance of rural development for creation of sustainable livelihoods

“A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims and access), and
activities required for a means of living:

A livelihood is sustainable which can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain
or enhance its capabilities and assets, provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next
generation and contribute net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels and in
the short and long-term”.

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The sustainable livelihoods framework:

Government Policies for Sustainable Rural Development

1. Deen dayal upadhyaya grameen kaushalya yojana
2. National rural livelihood mission
3. Mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee act- right to work – 2006 by
ministry of rural development
4. Deen dayal upadhyaya gram jyoti yojana- providing power to agricultural consumers -
2015 ministry of power
5. Gramin bhandaran yojana- increase farmer’s holding capacity-2001
6. Sampoorna grameen rozgar yojana
7. Pradhan mantri gram sadak yojana
8. Pradhan mantri adarsh gram yojana
9. Swamitva yojana
10. Make in India
11. Startup India
12. Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana – 2017
13. Janani Suraksha Yojana – 2005

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14. Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

15. National Child Labour Projects
16. Midday Meal Scheme

7. Policies for rural development

(i) Technology Policy

In India, the agricultural sector is easily influenced by the weather conditions. Technological
improvements can play a vital role in protecting agriculture from the effects of weather. Rural
societies are also characterised by large scale unemployment on the one hand and low
productivity on the other. Therefore, care has to be taken when new technologies are
introduced in rural areas. It is essential that newer technologies are adapted to rural societies
and on the other, it is necessary that existing technologies are extended to rural areas.
Technological planning, research and development are very vital ingredients of rural
development.

(ii) Agricultural Policy

Agriculture provides income and employment in rural areas. Needless to say, agricultural
planning is vital for rural development. The balanced growth of the agricultural sector can
play an important role in creating better conditions for those depending on this sector.

(iii) Employment Policy

Given the extent of unemployment problem in rural India, well-formulated employment

programmes are required. Such programmes can stop fluctuations in rural incomes on
account of poor weather conditions. Agricultural employment is often seasonal. Under these
conditions, rural employment programmes can ensure better spread of employment
throughout the year. The growth of non-agricultural activity within the village economy can
also relieve the pressure of population on the land.

(iv) Education Policy

In India the problem of illiteracy is particularly acute in rural areas. The lack of education can
act as a constraint in furthering rural development. Rural societies, are also characterised by
wide spread inequalities in the distribution of incomes and assets. The lack of education
creates a situation in which this problem is perpetuated. The spread of education on the one

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hand, can enable the rural poor to ensure justice and, on the other, help them in actively
participating in rural development programmes.

(v) Rural Institutions Policy

Rural institutions need to be reformed and utilised for successfully carrying out rural
development. The institutional aspects of rural societies are often ignored when strategies are
formulated. The institutional structures such as panchayats need to be nurtured for rural
development. These structures can act as powerful agents in actually implementing the
development strategies. Since rural settlements are spread out and are often isolated, they
cannot be monitored successfully from outside. Contrarily, local monitoring by institutions
such as panchayats can actually ensure that programmes are successfully implemented and
that the target group actually benefits from such programmes. Rural institutions such as banks
and co-operatives can also play a vital role in rural development.

(vi) Price Policy

The use of a price is also a crucial element in a rural development policy. Agricultural
produce has to be priced in such a manner that the farmers enjoy adequate returns. The price
policy through the use of subsidies can act as a means of providing essential items of mass
consumption to people residing in rural areas. This is particularly essential for those below
the poverty line. The spread of the public distribution system through its network of ration
shops in rural areas can be used to solve this problem. This is particularly important during
periods of poor rainfall when rural Incomes are adversely affected, which in turn has a
negative effect on consumption. Subsidies may have other forms—the form of input
subsidies to the agricultural sector for example. This is particularly important in the case of
fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. Thus, the price policy can act as a useful means of achieving
rural development objectives.

(vii) Land Policy

Land policy is a crucial element in a rural development strategy. It is well-known that

distribution of land and other assets is very skewed in India, as the large majorities have
small land holdings. This has a direct impact on the ability to earn incomes in rural areas.
Land reforms including the protection of the rights of tenants are one of the primary means of
transforming rural societies.

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8. Schemes for rural development launched by Government of India

1. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

• In order to provide good unrestricted road connectivity to villages, the Government of

India launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) on 25th Dec, 2000.
• This Bharat Nirman programme was introduced by the then Prime Minister of India
Atal Bihari, Vajpayee.
• The main objective of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity, to the eligible
unconnected habitations in the rural areas.

2. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

• DDU-GKY was launched on 25 September 2014 by Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari

and Venkaiah Naidu on the occasion of 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyaya.
• The Vision of DDU-GKY is to transform rural poor youth into an economically
independent and globally relevant workforce.
• It aims to target youth, in the age group of 15–35 years.
• DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). It aimed at
enhancing the employability of rural youth.
• Under this programme, disbursements would be made through a digital voucher
directly into the student’s bank account as part of the government's skill development
initiative.

3. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana (DDU-AY)

• The initial scheme Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was launched in
1999. It was renamed as National Rural Livelihood Mission in 2011. Finally, they
were merged into DDU-AY.
• DeenDayalAntyodaya Yojana (DAY) is one of the Government of India scheme for
helping the poor by providing skill training.
• The Government of India has provisioned ₹500 crores for the scheme.
• The objective of the scheme is to train 0.5 million people in urban areas per annum
from 2016.
• The aim of the scheme is skill development of both rural and urban India as per
requisite of the international standards.

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4. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)

• The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana is the scheme for the development of
employment in the rural sector of India.
• Previously there were two different schemes pertaining to the generation of wage
employment in the rural sector under the Ministry of Rural Development in India. The
schemes were Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) for the generation of wage
employment and the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) for the development of
infrastructure in the rural areas.
• To ensure the better functioning of the schemes both of them were clubbed together in
the year 2001, and the result was the emergence of the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar
Yojana (SGRY) as the new improved Wage-Employment Programme under the
Ministry of Rural Development.
• The SGRY scheme has an estimated annual expenditure of 10,000 crores. Under it
nearly 50 lakh tonnes of food grains amounting to 5,000 crores are to be supplied to
the authorities of the State Governments and Union Territories every year. The funds
left out would be used for the purpose of wage payment and other cash requirements.
• The scheme has placed more stress on the provisions of wage employment to the
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and women.

5. Swachh Bharat Mission

• The Prime Minister launched Swachh Bharat Mission on the birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October, 2014.
• The concept of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is to pave access for every person to
sanitation facilities including toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, village
cleanliness and safe and adequate drinking water supply.
• The programme is to be implemented by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• An action plan has been drawn up for Swachh Bharat to become a reality by 2019, the
150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• The Mission aims to triple the growth percentage of toilet from present 3% to 10% by
2019.

6. Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna

• This programme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the birth
anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayanon 11 October 2014.

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• Ministry of Rural Development will be the supervising authority for this programme.

• Under this programme each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility for
developing physical and institutional infrastructurein three villages by 2019.

7. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

• Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA), later renamed as
the "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act" or MGNREGA.
• It aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. This act was passed in 23 August 2005 under
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
• The MGNREGA was initiated with the objective of "enhancing livelihood security in
rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled
manual work".
• Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets (such as roads, canals, ponds
and wells).
• Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant's residence, and minimum
wages are to be paid.
• If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an
unemployment allowance. That is, if the government fails to provide employment, it
has to provide certain unemployment allowances to those people.

8. Village Grain Banks Scheme

• Village Grain Bank Scheme was being implemented by the Department of Food &
Public Distribution.
• The main objective of the scheme was to provide safeguard against starvation during
the period of natural calamity or during lean season when the households did not have
sufficient resources to purchase rations. Such people in need of food grains will be
able to borrow food grains from the Village Grain Bank.
• The grain banks are to be set up in food scarce areas like the droughtprone areas, the
hot and cold desert areas, tribal areas and the inaccessible hilly areas which remain
cut off because of natural calamities like floods, etc.

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• The scheme envisages inclusion of all willing BPL families in the villages to be
identified by the State Government in food deficit areas. The quantity to be lent and
the period of repayment is to be decided by the Group themselves.

9. Government schemes in agriculture sector

(a) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)

In order to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient,
the Government of India introduced National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) in
the year 2014-15. To achieve these goals, the mission promotes location specific sustainable
and best farming practices; soil conservation and moisture protection measures; soil nutrient
management; efficient and sustainable water management practices with mainstreaming
rainfed methods. As a major component of the mission, ‘On Farm Water Management’
(OFWM) is being implemented with the objective of increasing water use efficiency by
promoting modern technologies such as micro irrigation and sustainable water management
practices, efficient water consumption, better distribution channels along with secondary
storage facilities.

(b) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

The extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods and hailstorms cause crop failures
and financial loss to the farmers every year. And therefore, to save them from these ill
effects, the Government, by merging all previous crop insurance schemes, launched Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Kharif 2016 season with the aim to support
production in agriculture by providing an affordable crop insurance system.

Central government has made Aadhaar mandatory for availing crop insurance from Kharif
2017 season. The scheme has been restructured with states given option to determine scale of
finance at district level as per average yield.

(c) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)

The Government of India has structured Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)
with the vision to extend the coverage of irrigation and improving water use efficiency in a
focused manner. PMKSY focuses end to end solution on source creation, distribution,
management, field application and extension activities. The Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs had approved the irrigation scheme on July 1, 2015.

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The Centre has structured the scheme with merging previous irrigation and water
management programmes such as Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP),
Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) and On Farm Water Management
(OFWM) scheme. The Centre has approved Rs. 50,000 crore for five years for the
implementation of the flagship irrigation scheme across India.

(d) Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is one of the important government schemes
which encourages farmers for traditional and organic farming in India. Under the scheme, the
Government of India provides a financial assistance to the farmers of Rs 50,000 per hectare
every three years for organic inputs, certification, labelling, packaging, transportation and
marketing of organic produce. The scheme focuses on reducing the ill effects of overuse of
fertilisers and agrochemicals by promoting organic manures, bio-fertilisers and bio-
pesticides. It helps improve the soil fertility by improving organic carbon in the soil which
results in enhancing moisture holding capacity in the field too.

(e) Micro Irrigation Fund scheme

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has created a Micro
Irrigation Fund with a corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore implemented from 2019-20. The objective of
the fund is to facilitate the states in availing an interest subvented loan for expanding
coverage of micro irrigation facilities by taking up special and innovative projects and also
for incentivising micro irrigation beyond the provisions available under PMKSY to
encourage farmers to install micro irrigation systems.

(f) Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER)

MOVCDNER aims to develop the certified organic production in a value chain mode to link
farmers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from
organic inputs, seeds, certification and creation of facilities for collection, aggregation,
processing, marketing and brand building initiatives. The scheme is being implemented in
north eastern states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Sikkim and Tripura

(g) E-NAM

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In order connect the existing agricultural mandis on a common online market platform for
trading agricultural commodities, Government of India, launched a pan-India portal, e-
National Agriculture Market (eNAM) on April 14, 2016.

So far, e-NAM has connected nearly 1,000 mandis in 18 states and three union territories.
Implemented by Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), eNAM aims at reducing
transaction costs, bridging information asymmetries, and helping expansion of market access
for farmers and other stakeholders. Since the implementation, e-NAM has registered a user
base of 1.66 crore farmers, 1.31 lakh traders, 73,151 commission agents and 1,012 farmer
producer organisation (FPOs).

(h) Kisan Credit Card (KCC)

In a bid to provide adequate and timely credit to the farmers for their agricultural
expenditures, the Central government had launched Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme in the
year 1998. Under the scheme, the Government of India provides farm credit at a very
subsidised rate of 4 percent per annum. Since 2019, the Centre has extended the benefits of
Kisan Credit Card to animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries farmers for their working capital
requirement and raising the existing limit of collateral free loan from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs.1.60
lakh.

As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, the Centre has announced to cover 2.5 crore
farmers under KCC scheme with a credit boost of Rs 2 lakh crore through a special drive. As
a result, till October 19, 2020, according to the Government of India’s data, the package has
disbursed Rs. 1.35 lakh crore to 1.5 crore farmers under the scheme.

(i) Soil Health Card

With an objective of conserving and maintaining soil nutrient and soil fertility, Soil Health
Card (SHC) scheme issues soil health cards to the farmers every two years to provide a basis
to address nutritional deficiencies in the fields. Under the scheme, soil testing is conducted to
analyse the nutrient needs, then crop-wise fertilisers are recommended accordingly. This
reduces cultivation cost by application of right fertilisers with right quantity.

In the next five years, the Centre has targeted to cover 400,000 villages under individual farm
holding soil sampling and testing, organise 2.5 lakh demonstrations, set up of 250 village
level soil testing labs, strengthening 200 soil testing labs and promotion of micro-nutrients in
two lakh hectare area.

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(j) PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana

Lunched on February 24, 2019, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana makes transferring of Rs
6,000 per annum directly to the farmers’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT) in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The scheme supplements the financial needs of
the small and marginal farmers in buying farm inputs and other agricultural expenses, The
scheme aims to protect the farmers from falling in the vicious traps of local moneylenders
and ensures their continuance in the farming activities.

(k) PM-Kusum

In order to reduce the consumption of diesel and electricity for agricultural irrigation, the
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja
Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM-Kusum) scheme in February 19, 2019. With a
total Central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore, PM Kusum scheme aims to add solar and
other renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022.

Under the scheme, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has targeted to install 10,000
MW of decentralised grid connected renewable power plants of individual plant size up to 2
MW, installation of 20 lakh solar powered agricultural pumps of individual pump capacity up
to 7.5 HP and solarisation of 15 lakh grid-connected irrigation pumps of individual capacity
up to 7.5 HP.

10.Social sector programmes for rural development

The Ministry of Rural Development is engaged in implementing a number of schemes which

aim at enabling rural people to improve the quality of lives. The various social sector
programmes for rural development are discussed below:

I. Indira Awas Yojana

IAY, otherwise known as Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) or IAY Gramin,
was a sub-scheme of the Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) and a
social welfare programme that was first launched by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. It was the
flagship housing programme of the Ministry of Rural Development and worked toward
constructing houses for the below-poverty-line (BPL) population in rural India. In the
financial year 1995-96, the IAY extended its aid to widows and close relatives of defence
personnel killed in action as well.

Key features of Indira Gandhi Awas Yojana

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As the IAY was a social welfare scheme, a lot of the key features were designed to empower
citizens, beyond simply putting a roof over their heads. To understand further, consider the
following pointers.

a. Ownership
Any home constructed under IAY was under joint ownership of both husband and wife,
with exception of the unmarried, divorced, and widows. However, the State could give
ownership to the woman only. Similarly, if the state allotted the construction of the house
based on the eligibility of a disabled member, then they maintained sole ownership.
b. Construction :
Under this scheme, the construction was to be carried out by the beneficiary only. Any
external involvement of a contractor or agency was not permissible, and, if done, the
government could withhold or confiscate the funding provided. However, beneficiaries
could acquire support services from NGOs, youth clubs, and others, for monitoring and
assisting with construction.
c. Construction standards: As per the objectives of this initiative, eco-friendly and
sustainable modes of building houses were to be promoted. Preference was given to
locally-source d materials.
d. Fund allocation: Under this scheme, funds were released in instalments.
• The first instalment comprised of 25% of the total unit cost and was provided on the
Awaas Divas with the sanction order.
• The second instalment was paid after the first stage of construction was complete
reaching the lintel level, and comprised of 60% of the total cost.
• The final instalment was released after the home had a fully-constructed and
functional bathroom or latrine and the beneficiary was living in the home. Here, the
remaining 15% of the total cost was disbursed to the beneficiary.
e. Construction time limit: Upon receiving the first instalment, the beneficiary had 9
months to complete the first stage. Following which, stage 2 had to be completed within
another 9 months from receiving the second instalment.

The benefits of this social welfare scheme are as follows:

✓ Houses constructed under IAY must be designed based on the requirements of the
residents.
✓ Aim to use locally-sourced materials to construct homes that will last at least 30
years.

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✓ IAY promotes the use of eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable construction

techniques while also generating employment.
✓ IAY encourages Panchayats to spearhead change in their constituency so that the
program is effectively implemented across the nation.
✓ IAY supports construction of homes with required provisions like workplaces

II. Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana

• SGSY is being implemented since April 1999 as a major anti-poverty scheme for the
rural poor, by organizing them into Self Help Groups (SHGs), providing them with
skill development training and helping them to get credit linkage with financial
institutions and providing infrastructure and marketing support for the products
produced by them. Government of India and the State Government are sharing the
costs in the ratio of 75:25.
• The SGSY fund is used to provide subsidy for the Revolving fund and Economic
assistance to Self Help Groups.
• Part of the Scheme component is also utilised for formation of groups and conduct of
training for their basic orientation and skill upgradation.
• Upto 20% of the total allocation can also be spent on putting up of Infrastructure
required for promotion of activities of SHGs.
• The SHGs, after the first grading, are provided with a revolving fund of Rs.50,000 for
first linkages (bank loan of Rs.50,000 and Rs.10,000 as subsidy) Rs.1.00 lakhs for
second linkages and Rs.1.5 lakhs for third and subsequent linkages.
• After the second grading, the successful groups are provided with economic
assistance, the maximum eligible subsidy being 50% of the project cost with a ceiling
of Rs.1.25 lakhs.

III. Employment Assurance Scheme

Employment Assurance Scheme was launched on 2nd October, 1993 for implementation in
1778 identified backward blocks of different States. The block selected were in the drought
prone areas, desert areas, tribal areas and hilly areas. Later, the scheme was extended to the
remaining blocks of the country in phased manner. At present, the scheme is being implement
in all the rural blocks of the country. The programme has been restructured from 1st April,
1999.

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Objective

✓ As its name suggests, the primary objective of the EAS is to provide gainful
employment during the lean agricultural season in manual work to all able bodied
adults in rural areas who are in need and desirous of work, but cannot find it. The
work may be either on farm or on other allied operations or on the normal plan/non-
plan works during such a period.
✓ The secondary objective is the creation of community, social and economic assets for
sustained employment and development.

Status

The programme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on cost sharing basis

between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25. In the case of Union Territories, the
Centre provides entire funds under the Scheme.

Target Group

The EAS would be open to all adult rural poor who are in need of wage employment. A
maximum of two adults per family (the generally expected number of adults in a family)
would be provided wage employment, when there is demand during lean agricultural season,
subject to availability of funds.

Salient Features

• EAS will be the single wage employment programme to be implemented at the

district/block levels throughout the country.
• The funds to the States will be allocated on the basis of proportion of rural population
in a State to the total rural poor in the country or such other criteria as decided by the
Central Government from time to time.
• The Gram Panchayat will maintain a live employment register containing the details
of the workers and numbers of days for which wage-employment is provided under
the Scheme.
• 70% of the funds flowing to the districts would be allocated to the blocks and 30%
reserved at the district level to be utilized in the areas of distress.
• The wage-material ratio of 60:40 would be strictly implemented
• Payment of wages under the programme would be the Minimum Wage rates fixed by
the State authorities.

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• The selection of works would be decided by Zilla Parishads after consultations with
elected representative of the areas.
• In the absence of Elected Bodies, a committee comprising of local MPs and MLAs
and other elected representatives would be constituted for selection of works.
• The expenditure will be in the ratio of 60:40 for wage/non-wage component.
• The Employment Assurance Scheme will operate at district/block levels throughout
the country. However, priority would be given to the areas suffering from endemic
labour exodus.
• Persons seeking wage employment under EAS would be engaged in the works
included in the annual action plan prepared for this purpose by the Zila Parishads.
• The provisions of employment under this scheme should result in the creation of
durable and productive assets.

IV. Jal Jeevan Mission

Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through
individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. JJM looks to
create a janandolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.

Vision

Every rural household has drinking water supply in adequate quantity of prescribed quality
on regular and long-term basis at affordable service delivery charges leading to improvement
in living standards of rural communities.

Mission

Jal Jeevan Mission is to assist, empower and facilitate:

• States/ UTs in planning of participatory rural water supply strategy for ensuring
potable drinking water security on long-term basis to every rural household and public
institution, viz. school, Anganwadi centre, Health centre, wellness centres, etc.
• States/ UTs for creation of water supply infrastructure so that every rural household
has Functional Tap Connection (FHTC) by 2024 and water in adequate quantity of
prescribed quality is made available on regular basis.
• States/ UTs to plan for their drinking water security.
• Rural communities to plan, implement, manage, own, operate and maintain their own
in-village water supply systems.

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• States/ UTs to develop robust institutions having focus on service delivery and
financial sustainability of the sector by promoting utility approach.
• Capacity building of the stakeholders and create awareness in community on
significance of water for improvement in quality of life
• In making provision and mobilization of financial assistance to States/ UTs for
implementation of the mission.

V. Rural Sanitation

The Central Rural Sanitation Programme, which was started in 1986, was one of India’s first
efforts to provide safe sanitation in rural areas. This programme focussed mainly on
providing subsidies to people to construct sanitation facilities. However, a study done by the
government in 1996-97 showed that it was more important to raise awareness about
sanitation as a whole rather than to just provide subsidies for construction. This
understanding marked the first shift in the programme. In 1999, a restructured Total
Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was initiated to create supply-led sanitation by promoting local
sanitary marts and a range of technological options.

The rural sanitation campaign has the following as its objectives:

• Accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas.

• Generate a push from the people to get facilities rather than expect the Government to
do it (demand-led promotion).
• Focus on intensive education and awareness campaigns to ensure that people
understand the need for safe sanitation.
• Take the scheme beyond rural households to rural schools and nursery schools. Here
again, the emphasis was placed on promoting good hygiene practices.
• Promote cost-effective and appropriate technologies.
• Through all the above, improve the health and quality of life in rural areas.
• The last modification of the scheme happened in 2012. It was restructured and
renamed as the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan. With an intent to transform India to "Nirmal
Bharat", the scheme's revised target for reaching total sanitation was changed from
2012 to 2022.

VI. National Social Assistance Programme

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NSAP stands for National Social Assistance Programme. NSAP was launched on 15th
August, 1995.The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) represents a significant
step towards the fulfilment of the Directive Principles in Article 41 and 42 of the Constitution
recognizing the concurrent responsibility of the Central and the State Governments in the
matter. In particular, Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public
assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in
other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development.

Objective of NSAP

National Social Assistance Programme is a social security and welfare programme to provide
support to aged persons, widows, disabled persons and bereaved families on death of primary
bread winner, belonging to below poverty line households.

Components of NSAP

The NSAP at its inception in 1995 had three components namely

• National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)

• National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and
• National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS)

The National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS) was subsequently transferred on 1st April,
2001 from the Ministry of Rural development to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
On 1st April, 2000 a new Scheme known as Annapurna Scheme was launched. This scheme
aimed at providing food security to meet the requirement of those senior citizens who, though
eligible, have remained uncovered under the NOAPS.

In February 2009, two new Schemes known as Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension
Scheme (IGNWPS) and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) were
introduced.

Presently NSAP comprises of five schemes, namely:

(a) Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)

The eligible age for IGNOAPS is 60 years. The pension is Rs.200 p.m. for persons between
60 years and 79 years. For persons who are 80 years and above the pension is Rs.500/ - per
month.
(b) Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)

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The eligible age is 40 years and the pension is Rs.300 per month. After attaining the age of 80
years, the beneficiary will get Rs.500/ - per month.
(c) Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)
The eligible age for the pension er is 18 years and above and the disability level has to be
80%. The amount is Rs.300 per month and after attaining the age of 80 years, the beneficiary
will get Rs 500/ - per month . Dwarfs will also be a n eligible category for this pension.
(d) National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)
Rs. 20000/ - will be given as a lumpsum assistance to the bereaved household in the event of
death of the bread - winner. It is clarified that any event of death (natural or otherwise) would
maKe the family eligible for assistance. A woman in the family,who is a home maKer,is also
considered as a 'bread - winner' for this purpose. The family benefit will be paid to such
surviving member of the household of the deceased poor, who after local inquiry, is found to
be the head of the nousehold. For the purpose of the scheme, the term "household'would
include spouse, minor children, unmarried daughters and dependent parents. In case of death
of an unmarried adult, the term household would include minor brothers/ sisters and
dependent parents. The death of such a bread - winner should have occurred whilst he/ she is
more than 18 years of age and less than 60 years of age. The assistance would be given to
every case of death of breadwinner in a family.
(e) Annapurna Scheme
10 kgs of food grains (wheat or rice) is given per month per beneficiary. The scheme aims at
providing food security to meet the requirements of those eligible old aged persons who have
remained uncovered under the IGNOAPS

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