Poverty Alleviation: Indian Economy
INTRODUCTION
The process of poverty alleviation is how people are lifted out of it. Reducing poverty has a number of positive societal repercussions. Improved career opportunities, improved school access (due to higher income levels and the ability to pay for tuition and supplies), and improved nutrition and health are just a few examples.
WHAT EXACTLY IS POVERTY ALLEVIATION?
• A group of economic and humanitarian actions made to end poverty in a nation is referred to as poverty alleviation.
• According to the World Bank, severe poverty, which now impacts 767 million people globally, is defined as having a daily income of $1.90 or less.
• 268 million Indians, according to the most recent government statistics, survived on less than $1.90 per day in 2011.
• In order to end poverty and give disadvantaged households access to basic necessities, the Indian government has created a number of programmes and projects.
Programme for Integrated Rural Development (IRDP)
• The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was created in 1978–1979 by the Janta administration by combining the Community Area Development Programme (CADP), Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), Small Farmer Development Agency (SFDA), and Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Laborers Agency (MFALA).
• The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the central government emphasises the crucial role that villages play in the overall development of the nation and pledges to work for the development of rural communities.
• Eliminating poverty, hunger, and unemployment in rural India is the main objective of IRDP.
• Out of the 5004 development blocks in the nation, only 2000 blocks were initially included in the integrated rural development plan.
India's Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana
• The former Jawahar Rozgar Yojana has been replaced, improved, and expanded upon under this programme.
• It was founded on April 1, 1999, with the intention of enhancing the lives of rural impoverished people by giving them more beneficial jobs.
• This involves the formation of the foundation, the development of regional resources, and, in keeping with this, the commercial age.
• JGSY initiative to raise public awareness in municipalities, especially those with sizable BPL populations. In order to evaluate the arrangement's inherent value, this necessitates reevaluating the arrangement at a higher (public) level.
• The Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana of the government is totally carried out at the gram panchayat level.
Indira Awaas Yojana for Rural Housing
• The former rural housing programme Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was reformed as PMAY-G on 1 April 2016 to accomplish the objective of "Housing for All" by 2022.
• Ministry of Rural Development is involved.
• All rural households who are homeless or residing in kutchas or other decaying structures by the end of March 2022 would be given access to pucca houses with the most basic amenities.
• By offering a full grant, to help rural inhabitants who fall below the poverty line (BPL) build new dwelling units and renovate their outdated kutcha homes.
• Beneficiaries include people from the SC/ST communities, liberated bonded laborers, non-SC/ST groups, widows or other family members of deceased defense personnel, former service members and retired paramilitary personnel, people with disabilities, and people from minority groups.
Food for Work Programme
• Together with state governments, the Ministry of Rural Development launched the National Food for Work Programme.
• A paid employment programme called the National Food for Work Initiative seeks to reduce rural poverty.
• With the aim of expanding the generation of supplemental wage jobs, the programme is being introduced in 150 of the most underdeveloped regions of the nation.
• All rural poor people who need to work for a living and desire to perform manual, unskilled labor are eligible for the programme. The United States is provided with food at no cost.
• This programme was included in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in February 2006.
National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)
• In accordance with Article 41 of the Indian constitution, "The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education, and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness, and disability, and in other cases of undeserved want."
• Anyone over 60 may participate in the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS). Ages 60 to 79 are eligible for a pension of Rs. 200 per month, and 80 and above are eligible for a pension of Rs. 500 per month.
• As a component of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), it was initially implemented in 2007.
SGRY, or Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana
• A programme created by the Indian government with the intention of giving the poor people in rural India productive jobs.
• The initiative was to be put into action through the Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs).
• The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana was created on September 25, 2001, integrating the features of the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) and the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS).
• The effort is self-targeting in nature, with the objective of giving disadvantaged people who reside in rural areas access to food and employment.
National Rural Livelihood Mission (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana)
• The Ministry of Rural Development created DAY-NRLM with the goal of reducing rural poverty by giving residents access to work possibilities.
• Additionally, it entails empowering strong community institutions to empower strong self-help organizations.
Act of 2005 known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
• On September 7, 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act previously known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was introduced.
• The act's purpose in India is to create jobs and social security.
• Except for the district with a population of only urban residents, the act is intended to apply to all districts in India.
National Urban Livelihoods Mission
• By redesigning the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana, DAY-NULM was introduced in 2013.
• This mission seeks to assist the urban poor, particularly the homeless in cities.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs oversees its implementation.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
• It is a flagship programme with the objective of giving young people who are unemployed or drop outs a set of industrial skills.
• This programme aims to provide 10 million young people (between 2016 and 2020) with the necessary skill set to support themselves.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which is further governed by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• Any young person with Indian nationality who is between the ages of 15 and 29 is eligible to apply for the programme.
• However, either college/school dropouts or the unemployed are given the most attention.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, also known as PMJDY, is the Indian people's wealth programme. Others refer to it as the country's financial inclusion.
Key Elements:
• Everyone can use branch and banking correspondent (BC) banking services.
• Every eligible adult would be given a basic savings account with a ceiling of Rs. 10,000 for overdrafts.
• The goal of the financial literacy programme is to motivate participants to save money, utilize ATMs, get credit-ready, buy insurance and pensions, and do basic banking on their phones.
• For the purpose of offering banks some security from failures, the Credit Guarantee Fund was founded.
PMAY-G, or Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
• The programme was started as a social welfare measure to give low-income people in India the housing amenities they require. In order to fulfil the government's promise to provide "Housing in all rural areas" by 2022, PMAY-G was developed.
• All rural households who are homeless or residing in kutchas or other decaying structures by the end of March 2022 would be given access to pucca houses with the most basic amenities.
• By offering a full grant, to help rural inhabitants who fall below the poverty line (BPL) build new dwelling units and renovate their outdated kutcha homes.
Housing for All: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
• By 2022, the PMAY programme wants to have housing for everyone.
• For the following, it provides centralized assistance to all implementing agencies, Central Nodal agencies, and Urban Local Bodies.
• Redevelopment of existing slum areas to construct pucca homes with essential amenities is known as in-situ rehabilitation.
• Partnership for affordable housing: The government provides financial support for housing in association with the public and private sectors.
• Credit Linked Subsidy: Recipients will receive a loan for Rs. 6 Lakh with a 20-year term and a 6.5% interest rate.
• Subsidy for the beneficiary-led individual home: The government gives beneficiaries who fall under the EWS group central support in the amount of Rs. 1.5 lakh.
NFSA: National Food Security Act
• National Food Security Act of 2013 (NFSA) rules now control the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• This law covers the Public Distribution System, the Integrated Child Development Services Programme, and the Midday Meal Programme. The NFSA 2013 also acknowledges maternity benefits.
• According to demographic projections from the 2011 Census, the Act covers close to two thirds of the whole population of the nation.
GSA, or Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
• The campaign's slogan is "Sabka Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas".
• Its main objectives are to advance social harmony, increase public knowledge of government policies that help the poor, contact low-income households to enroll them, and get feedback on various welfare projects.
• Over 2.55 million Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) receive assistance from the Gramme Swaraj Abhiyan in enhancing their capacity for governance through inclusive local governance and efficient resource utilization.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are mostly aligned with the implementation and monitoring operations of the plan, with an emphasis on Panchayats identified under Mission Antyodaya and Aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog.
PMAGY, or Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana
• The Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gramme Yojana (PMAGY) aims to integrate the development of specific villages with more than 50% Scheduled Caste (SC) population by carrying out current schemes of the Central and State Governments in a convergent manner and utilizing gap-filling funds provided as Central Assistance.
• The programme was introduced in five states Himachal Pradesh (Northern Region), Bihar (Eastern Region), Rajasthan (Western Region), Tamil Nadu (Southern Region), and Assam (North-Eastern Region) on a pilot basis for the integrated development of 1000 villages in 2009–2010.
PMKKKY, or Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana
• For all the tribal people who have been harmed by the mining operations that take place in the mining area, there is a national programme called the Pradhan Mantri Khaij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana.
• It debuted on September 17, 2015.
• In the mining regions, Scheduled Tribes are primarily populated.
• Additionally, they are situated in the territories listed in the Constitution's Fifth Schedule.
• And the District Mineral Foundation's (DMF) funds will be used to provide assistance to the tribal members.
SVAMITVA plan
• The Survey of India, the State Panchayati Raj Departments, the State Revenue Departments, and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj are all partners in the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) project.
• Its objective is to give rural dwellers the ability to register their homes so they can use them for commercial endeavors.
• Drone technology will be used to survey land parcels in populated rural areas.
Transactional of Aspirational Districts
• The 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' programme aims to successfully transform the districts.
• A section of India's most undeveloped areas will be changed quickly and effectively by the Transformation of the Aspirational Districts Programme.
• It will identify areas with rapid improvement, track development, and rank regions.
NRuM, or National Rurban Mission
• In Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, on February 22, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the National Rurban Mission (NRuM).
• The goal, also known as the "Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission" (SPMRM), intends to promote infrastructure, social, and economic growth in rural areas by first creating a group of 300 Smart Villages across our nation over the next three years.
• The number of clusters found will increase as the system is improved. The Union Budget for 2014–15 included an announcement of the initiative.
• The Union Ministry of Rural Development carries out NRM.
PMGSY, or Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
• The Ministry of Rural Development is responsible for implementing the Pradhan Mantri Gramme Sadak Yojana. The programme was introduced in 2000.
• The scheme's major goal is to build all-weather roads that connect all the disconnected settlements.
• The central government is entirely funding the programme.
• The programme also includes an upgrade element that will further guarantee total connectivity from markets to farms.
• The World Bank has backed the plan ever since it was created.
SAGY, or Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
• Under the Saansad Aadarsh Gramme Yojana (SAGY), each Member of Parliament (MP) is tasked with improving the physical and socioeconomic infrastructure in three villages each by 2019.
• According to the proposal, eight "Adarsh Villages" or "Model Villages" should exist by 2024.
Programme for National Social Assistance (NSAP)
• The Ministry of Rural Development is in charge of the National Social Assistance Programme, a health programme. This programme is being implemented both in urban and rural areas.
• The National Social Help Programme helps individuals in need by providing them with social pensions each month.
• The National Social Assistance Programme is referred to as NSAP. The NSAP was launched on August 15, 1995.
The Task Force on Poverty Elimination of NITI Aayog
• A task force on ending poverty in India was established by NITI Aayog on March 16, 2015, under the leadership of Arvind Panagariya, in accordance with the decision made at the organization's first meeting of the Governing Council on February 8, 2015, which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The 2009 approach suggested by a panel of experts led by Suresh D. Tendulkar served as the foundation for the current estimates of poverty.
PROGRAMS FOR REDUCING POVERTY: A CRITICAL EVALUATION
• The percentage of absolute poor has dropped below the national average in some states for the first time since independence as a result of efforts to combat poverty.
• Despite numerous initiatives to reduce poverty, there are still many areas of India where there is hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, and a lack of basic necessities.
• The last five and a half decades have seen a progressive evolution in poverty alleviation policies, but there hasn't been a significant shift.
• Programs can undergo nomenclature changes, integration, and mutations.
• However, none of these led to a major change in who owned assets, how things were made, or how the poor were given access to essential services.
POVERTY: SDG 1
• A healthy and developed future for the world and its inhabitants is the aim of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, which was accepted by all UN members in 2012 at the Rio de Janeiro Council Meeting.
• The first of the 17 Sustainable development objectives, as established in 2015, is SDG 1: No Poverty.
• A slowdown in the decline of extreme poverty makes the fact that global poverty is declining of little consolation.
• Nearly 10% of the population was in poverty in 2015. In 2030, it is predicted that about 6% of the world's population would be living in poverty, despite reducing poverty rates.
• Due to extreme hardship, exclusionary practices, and natural disasters, poverty continues.
• Social protection programmes assist by easing suffering and establishing circumstances that allow people to overcome poverty, although they frequently do not reach all intended populations or are not enough to achieve the desired results.
• On the other hand, natural disasters are often reversing disadvantaged groups' attempts to overcome poverty by causing deaths and economic losses in numerous countries.
• India's national development policy places a high priority on eradicating poverty, hence a diversified strategy has been put in place.
• The approach for creating well-paying jobs for new entrants as well as those facing redundancy in agriculture or other industries must maintain an annual GDP growth rate of 8% in real terms.
• Second, through expanding agricultural infrastructure and support services, producing productive assets, training skills, and encouraging entrepreneurship, targeted programs assist the economically disadvantaged in raising their income.
CONCLUSION
Unforeseen tragedies are prevented from impeding attempts to reduce poverty by social protection measures and risk mitigation from natural and other disasters. Only until the impoverished start to actively participate in and contribute to the growing process will poverty be successfully erased. This is achieved through a process of social mobilization that empowers and encourages disadvantaged people to participate. Additionally, this will help to open up career prospects, which could lead to an improvement in income, skill development, health, and literacy. Additionally, infrastructure including schools, roads, power, communication, IT services, and training facilities must be given. Poverty-stricken areas must also be recognised.