Government’s Poverty Alleviation Initiative Targets Rural India, Says Ministry of Rural Development

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has adopted multi-pronged strategies to improve the economic well-being of people in rural areas with the main focus on increasing livelihood opportunities, empowering rural women, providing social safety net skilling of rural youth, infrastructure development etc. through its Programmes. In this regard, the Government is implementing a number of targeted programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY NRLM), Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and Watershed Development Component (WDC) of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY).

Scheme-wise and State-wise details of the funds allocated and utilized under these schemes, wherever maintained, during the last five years are at Annexure.

Under various rural development schemes, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and minority communities, wherever applicable, are also getting the benefits.  The details in this regard are as under:

1.  Under MGNREGS, 655.09 lakh SC and 547.09 lakh ST Households availed employment during the last five years.
2.  Under DAY-NRLM, since inception till June, 2024, 1,97,45,021 SC household, 1,22,32,174 ST households and 80,04,414 Minority households were brought under the ambit of the Scheme.  Similarly, in respect of mobilization of Self Help Groups (SHGs), 17,88,155 SC, 11,20,624 ST and 6,88,057 Minority SHGs have been mobilized.
3.   Under PMAY-G, a total of 68,58,151houses have been sanctioned to SCs, out of which 59,06,403 houses have completed;65,89,252 houses have been sanctioned to STs, out of which 57,21,852 houses have been completed and 35,51,510 houses have been sanctioned to minorities, out of which 33,48,652 houses have been completed.

4.  PMGSY is not an individual/community centric scheme. The roads constructed under PMGSY cater to all the strata of the society. Nevertheless, ST areas have got specific focus in the scheme by giving special dispensation.Since inception till 22.07.2024, a total of 8,27,419 km road length has been sanctioned, out of which 7,65,512 Km road length has been completed. Recently, a separate vertical under PMGSY has been launched for providing road connectivity to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) habitations with population size upto 100.  The target length is 8,000 Km with a time span of 5 years (2023-24 to 2027-28).  So, far 2,813.11 Km has already been sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).
5.  Under DDU-GKY, 275693 SC rural youth trained and 183160 placed; 155168 ST rural youth trained and 106344 placedand 145787 minorities youth trained and 90233 placedfrom the financial year 2019-20 to June, 2024.Under RSETI, 481229 SC rural youth trained and 355962 settled; 272632 ST rural youth trained and 196131 settled and 229282 minorities trained and 163804 settled from the financial year 2019-20 to June, 2024.
6.  Under NSAP, there was no separate allocation and release of funds for ST beneficiaries before 2021-22. From 2021-22, ST beneficiaries were identified and separate allocation of funds for ST beneficiaries was made.Therefore, the no. of SC & ST beneficiaries under NSAP Schemes from 2021-22 to 2023-24 are as under:

7. WDC-PMKSY is an area development programme and all the people of the project areas including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Minority Communities are benefited through the interventions undertaken under the programme. Under WDC-PMKSY 2.0, from 2022-23 to 2023-24, 1,05,009 Water Harvesting Structures have been created / rejuvenated, 1,46,659 hectares  land has been brought under protective irrigation, 84,679 hectares land has been brought under plantation (Afforestation/ Horticulture), 706066 farmers have been benefitted and 12731044mandays of employment have been generated

In 2020, NITI Aayog was identified as the nodal agency for the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), responsible for constructing an indigenized index to monitor the performance of States and Union Territories. NITI Aayog constituted an inter-ministerial MPI Coordination Committee (MPICC) including Ministries and Departments pertaining to areas such as health, education, nutrition, rural development, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, and urban development, among others. It also included experts from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and the technical partners – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). As a result, a comprehensive National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for India was developed. The baseline report was published in November 2021 and the second edition of the National MPI report was released in July 2023.

As per the report ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023’, the proportion of individuals who are multi-dimensionally poor declined from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21, resulting in 13.5crore individuals escaping multidimensional poverty during this period.

Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) accords emphasis for targeted implementation of its schemes/projects. The programme wise factors affecting performance are analyzed and tailored actions are taken accordingly. Some of the major strategies in this regard are:

1. In order to ensure that the schemes reach closure, the Ministry has evolved a comprehensive multi-level and multi-format system of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of rural development schemes, including Performance Review Committee Meetings, District Development Co ordination and Monitoring Committee (“DISHA”) meetings, National Level Monitors (NLMs), Area Officers Schemes, Common Review Mission, Concurrent Evaluation and Impact Assessment Studies. State specific reviews of States/UTs are also undertaken from time to time and action is taken on the basis of their findings.
2. The schemes of the Rural Development have been brought upon end-to-end transaction based MIS, which enables all the stakeholders to monitor status of schemes in a real time basis. The works are photographed with geo-tags and time stamps. All the data of RD schemes are available on public domain.
3. In addition to above, the Ministry arranges for sufficient funds for completion of works facilitates forest clearances, coordinates convergence with related Ministries/Agencies for manpower, technical support etc.
4. Social Audits are also conducted for some Schemes like Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and PMAY-G. Ombudsman are also appointed for attending to any grievances regarding MGNREGA works. In addition, grievance redressal is being given due attention in all schemes of the Rural Development.
5. States are advised to recruit adequate staff for implementation of the programme. Norms have been laid for staffing. Funds are provided for supporting hiring of manpower and other administrative expenditure. The training and orientation of programme manpower is also arranged from time to time.
6. Norms for administrative and technical oversight and audit have been laid down. Mobile application for inspection viz. Area Officer App has been developed. Similar apps have been developed in other areas too and is an ongoing process depending on the requirements. The performance of officials is monitored against them.
7. Regular coordination with the State Govt. for preparation of the fund release proposals and documentation is made and timely advice is tendered to them in this regard. In cases of delay, the matter is escalated to higher levels for seeking release of funds.
8. Women networks, community based organisations and civil society organisations are mobilised for creating demand from below for proper implementation of the schemes.