Flagship programs by Government of

India, for rural areas

Different ministries of the government of India formulate various development
schemes not to raise the profit but to maximise the welfare of the people. Some
schemes like National Rural Livelihood Mission, MGNREGA, Bharat Nirman etc. are
made by the government for rural development of India.

Swachchh Bharat Mission:

 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
2020, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
  The Mission aims to triple the growth percentage of toilet from present 3% to
10% by 2019.

 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MGNREGS):

 This scheme is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to
provide ‘right to work' to the people falling Below Poverty Line.
  It guarantees 100 days employment in a year to the village people.
   Fifty percent workers should be women. Its 90% funding is borne by the
central government and 10% by the state government.

 National Rural Health Mission:

 The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), now under National Health Mission
is initiated on 12 April, 2005.
 Main aim of this plan is to provide accessible, affordable and accountable
quality health services even to the poorest households in the remotest rural
regions.
  It is run by the ministry of health and family welfare.

Image source:googleimages.com

Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna:

 It was launched on october2, 2007. It’s a social security scheme for rural
households.
 Under this scheme one member of the family is covered.
 The premium of Rs. 200 per person per annum is shared by the state and
central government. V. The insured person needs not to pay any premium if
his/her age is between the 18 years to 59 years.

What was in Union Budget 2020 for

Rural People?
Facts which remained facts-
  As per the Union Budget document tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in
Parliament, Rs 61,500 crore has been allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for the year 2020-21, down by more than 13
per cent from the total estimated expenditure for 2019-20 which was at Rs 71,001.81 crore.

 The allocation for the Department of Panchayati Raj has increased on account of higher
funds allotted to the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan from an estimated expenditure of Rs
465.46 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 857.53 crore in 2020-21.

 The Crop Insurance SchemeThe premium of crop insurance is likely to be revised

after the Union Cabinet approved the changes in the existing Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojana, an official said. Under the new farm insurance scheme which is also
considered as PMFBY 2.0, the government made major changes making it optional
for farmers.

But in Reality-

‘ If the image of a farmer hanging himself from a tree at Jantar Mantar in the Capital
haunts India, it is because perhaps for the first time urban India came face to face with
self-destruction that so far appeared to be happening thousands of miles away in a Bharat
city slickers found difficult to put a finger on.’
OR
‘And if thousands of farmers are killing themselves on their ravaged fields, it’s not just
because the weather gods have been brutal; it’s also because the protection from such
climatic flippancy, in terms of crop insurance, has failed the farmer when he needed it the
most.’ WHY?

Thousands of farmers who have opened insurance plans through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC)
scheme for instance find they cannot claim insurance because of unpaid dues on their bank
loan.

 The Modus Operandi:

- Networks of farmers, bank officials and agriculture department officials run these
rackets

- Government officials show a higher loss while bank officials help farmers insure the
same land repeatedly
  Lack of Awareness

- Even as the insurance company struggles to deal with fraudulent claims in these
states, there exists another set of states where the coverage is poor and the farmers
have little awareness. These states are led by Punjab which is yet to sign up for any
crop insurance policy. Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are
some of the other states that have a poor record of getting crop insurance schemes
implemented.

- An official with the government insurance company said the average small farmer
in the country is estimated to earn around Rs 1,700 per month and a 10% insurance
premium — Rs 170 per bi-annual season — is a substantial amount for him.

 Food For Thought

- That farmers have to pay the premium has met with a backlash in multiple states
with several farmer associations even writing to insurance companies to not debit
the insurance premium. Given that the banks are under pressure to meet targets for
the KCC, they decide to waive off the premium component.

- According to a senior official with a public sector insurance company, crop

insurance schemes were linked to farm loans to provide comprehensive cover .

Now What in Covid19?

 PM Modi, on May 12, announced an economic stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore to
shore up the economy battered by the COVID-19 outbreak, FM Sitharaman disclosed
the blueprint of the mega package on May 13.The announcements included six
measures for MSMEs, 2 for EPF, 2 for NBFCs and MFIs, 1 for discoms, 1 for contractors,
1 for real estate sector, and 3 tax measures

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 14 extended 2 percent interest

subvention under the Shishu loans of MUDRA for a period of 12 months.

 "The move will benefit more than 3 crore people," Sitharaman said, adding that this
would be a Rs 15,000 crore benefit. The current outstanding amount under the Mudra-
Shishu loans category is Rs 1.62 lakh crore.

 The second tranche of announcements focuses on migrant workers, street vendors,

small traders, self-employed people and small farmers.The minister also announced
that special credit facility of Rs 5,000 crore for street vendors will be launched by the
government within a month.

 This scheme, she said, will facilitate easy access to credit for street vendors who have
been largely affected by the nationwide lockdown. Around 50 lakh street vendors will
 be able to avail credit via this scheme as they restart their businesses once the
lockdown is lifted.

 ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system, the beneficiary will be able to buy subsidised
food grains from any FPS across the country.

 The new system, based on a technological solution, will identify a beneficiary through
biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at the FPSs,
and enable that person to purchase the quantity of food grains to which she is entitled
under the NFSA.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA –

A WAY FORWARD

Today, Inclusive rural

development is more specific
concept than the concept of
rural development of
earlier, in broader terms,
inclusive rural development
is about
improving the quality of
life of all rural people.
More specifically, inclusive
rural
development covers three
different but interrelated
dimensions: Economic
dimension,
Social dimension and Political
dimension. Economic
dimension encompasses
providing both
capacity and opportunities for
the poor and low-income
households in particular,
benefit from
the economic growth. Social
dimension supports social
development of poor and low-
income
households, promotes gender
equality and women’s
empowerment and provides
social safety
nets for vulnerable groups.
Political dimension improves
the opportunities for the poor
and low
income people in rural areas to
effectively and equally
participate the political
processes at th
Today, Rural l development is more specific concept than the concept of rural development
of earlier, in broader terms, inclusive rural development is about improving the
quality of life of all rural people. More specifically, inclusive rural development
covers three different but interrelated dimensions: Economic dimension ,Social
dimension and Political dimension. Economic dimension encompasses providing both
capacity and opportunities for the poor and low-income households in particular, benefit
fromthe economic growth. Social dimension supports social development of poor and low-
income households, promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment and provides
social safet ynets for vulnerable groups. Political dimension improves the opportunities for
the poor and low income people in rural areas to effectively and equally participate the
political processes at the village level . Approaches taken by Gov. to improve are-
Rural
Devel
opm e
nt
Proje
cts
and
Progr
Com m unity
amDevelopm
m ent
Program
es m e:

Integrated Rural Developm ent:

Grass Root Level Approach or Local Level Participation in Rural

Developm ent:

Changing Scenario in Agricultural

Extension in Rural Development :
Since the beginning of 21st century, some significant relevant to
agricultural extension has been visible.
The important are:
1. Need for helping farmers to build and maintain profitability in farming in increasingly
competitive markets.
2. Expected rise in purchasing power of the people as well as their changing food habits.
3. Avoidance and control of pollution.
4. Emphasis on computer – aided learning and dissemination of information.
5. Growing involvement of the corporate in rural life (through buying, selling, producing,
processing etc.).
6. To view agriculture as part of a wider set of rural development processes that includes
enterprise development and non-farm employment.
Rural development is an integrated concept of growth and poverty elimination has been of
paramount concern in all the consequent five year plans.
Rural development programmes comprise
the following:
i. Provision of basic infrastructure facilities in the rural areas e.g. schools, health facilities,
roads, drinking water, electrification etc.
ii. Improving agricultural productivity in rural areas.
iii. Provision of social services like health and education for socio-economic development.
iv. Implementing schemes for the promotion of rural industry for increasing agriculture
productivity, providing rural employment etc.
v. Assistance to individual families and Self Help Groups (SHGs) living below poverty line by
providing productive resources through credit and subsidy.

Constraint in Rural Development:

i. Most people are illiterate for such people extension teaching methods like Demonstrations,
individual and group approaches, Training classes require large number of extension
workers.
ii. Inadequate communication channels especially Mass Media in rural areas.
iii. Limitation of Funds and staff for training the farmers.
iv. As a traditional society with old ways and practices does not want to take risk unless they
see the results.
v. In an illiterate traditional society real leadership could not come forward.
vi. Communities and individuals differ in their needs as their circumstances change.
vii. Organizational constraints.
viii. Vaguely framed objectives of organization.

Conclusion-
 To be sure, the bottom of the pyramid offers a lot of potential, but more efforts
will be needed to truly avail the benefits, according to some experts. Devendra
Pant, chief economist and head of public finance at India Ratings, draws
attention to the fact that though farm income has increased in double digits over
the years, non-agriculture income has grown in low single digits. “Merely
increasing MSPs won’t help. We need to improve the quality of labour by
enriching skillsets,” said Pant.
  An increase in the rural propensity to spend benefits industries such as
agricultural products and services, automobiles, banking and finance, fast
moving consumer goods (FMCG), and cement. For instance, more than a third
of the cement demand comes from the rural markets, while Maruti Suzuki India
sells a similar proportion of its cars in villages. Hindustan Unilever, India’s
leading FMCG company, has been reporting higher sales growth in the rural
market compared with the urban regions in each  ..
 

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/88213/10/10_third%20chapter.pdf

Rural Development Strategies

in India:
 Provide MSP (Minimum
Support Price) for various
crops to the farmers, apart
from
providing Crop Insurance.
 Irrigation facilities to all
the agricultural fields should
be provided.
 Provide Life Insurance to
all the farmers who are
actually performing
agriculture.
 Instead of giving direct
cash in to the hands of farmers,
Government has to provide
free
of cost all required inputs like
quality seeds, fertilizers and
pesticides etc.
 For purchasing Tractors,
Electric Motor Water Pumps
etc on subsidy, Government
should
provide loan facility to the
farmers.
 Electricity for farmers
should be supplied on subsidy
rates.
 In the event monsoon
failure and crop failure due to
floods etc, Government must
come
to the rescue of the farmers.
 As there are no other
activities except agriculture
in rural areas, Government
must
provide loan facility to the
interested educated youth
for starting Startups to
reduce
unemployment.
 Strengthen and develop
existing Agricultural Markets
in addition to the establishing
new
Agricultural Markets.
 Establish new agricultural
godowns in addition to the
existing godowns.
 Agricultural research,
extension of rural education
and training programmes for
farmers
should form a part of
institution building activities.
 Infrastructure building
activity related to the
growth of irrigation,
transport,
communications and health
facilities.
 Programmes to improve
agricultural production and
marketing should be
organized.
 Up dated information on
policies related to land tenure,
agricultural output, prices etc
should be provided to the
farmers.
 Frequent weaving of
agricultural loans for political
mileage is not good for the
economy
as it gives wrong signals to
those farmers who repay their
agricultural loans promptly.
Innovative Ideas for Rural
Development in India:
1. Utilization of Local
Resources: For example: If
there are water resources like
rivers and
tanks near by the villages,
in summer itself,
arrangements must be made
to tap this
resource by removing slit in
the tanks, constructing new
reservoirs, bunds, canals and
simultaneously strengthening
the existing ones, so that
the water cannot go waste.
Similarly, if there are any
mines like iron, coal and
granites, they should be
excavated so
that local population can be
provided employment.
2. Establishment of Rural
Industries: All the village
industries come under the
following
broad categories:
2
a). Agro Based Industries:
Sugar industries, Jaggery,
Oil processing from oil
seeds,
Pickles, Fruit juice, Spices,
Dairy products etc.
b). Forest Based Industries:
Wood products, Bamboo
products, Honey, Coir
industry,
making eating plates from
leaves.
c). Mineral based industry:
Stone crushing, Cement
industries, Red oxide making,
wall
coating powders etc.
d). Textile Industry: Spinning,
Weaving, Colouring and
Bleaching.
e). Engineering and Services:
Tractors and Pump set repairs
etc. Small and medium
sized industries to produce
agricultural machinery,
equipment for usage in rural
areas etc.
f). Handicrafts: These include
making of wooden or bamboo
handicrafts that are local to
that area, traditional decorative
products

4A'S