Poverty Alleviation Programmes In India
Introduction
According to the World Bank, India has made great strides in eradicating poverty by rescuing 90 million people from it between 2011 and 2015. To make this development, the government implemented a number of poverty-alleviation programs that could meet the needs of the poor, create jobs, and offer food and shelter.
Poverty: What Is It?
• The absence of the resources and needs needed to maintain a minimal standard of living is referred to as poverty.
• When one's wages from employment are insufficient to cover basic needs, that person is said to be living in poverty.
• The World Bank defines poverty as a serious loss of wellbeing that takes many forms. Poverty is characterized by low incomes and the inability to access the goods and services necessary for a dignified existence.
• According to the International Poverty Line, which is set at $1.90 per day, people are considered to be poor according to the World Bank.
• The Tendulkar Committee in India sets the national poverty line.
• Poor physical and mental health, inadequate education, a lack of access to sanitary facilities, a lack of physical safety, a lack of voice, and the inability to change one's circumstances are all examples of poverty.
What Is Poverty Alleviation?
• According to the 2011 census, 21.9% of Indians were living in poverty.
• 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.
• Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP): The Government of India has created a number of projects and schemes to combat poverty and provide basic necessities to underprivileged households.
• 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.
JGSY, or Jawahar Gramme Samridhi Yojana
• The former Jawahar Rozgar Yojana has been replaced, improved, and expanded upon under this initiative.
• 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.
• Direct payments would be made to Gramme Panchayats, including State Mail Accounts to Zila Parishads (ZPs) and District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs).
• It is impossible to overestimate the impact of the national framework on the growth of the town's economy.
• A number of measures have been launched by the Central and State Governments to strengthen the country's framework. In this direction, the public works programme has also significantly contributed.
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 laborer’s, 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.
• Beneficiaries are selected using a three-stage validation procedure that includes geotagging, the Socio-Economic Caste Census from 2011, and Gram Sabha.
• Cost-Sharing: In plain areas, the central and state governments split the cost of unit support 60:40 each, and in North Eastern and hilly states, the split is 90:10.
Food for Work Programme
• Together with state governments, the Ministry of Rural Development launched the National Food for Work Programme.
• A paid employment scheme called the National Food for Work Initiative is designed to reduce rural poverty.
• The plan is being introduced in 150 of the most destitute regions of the nation with the intention of enhancing the generation of supplemental wage jobs.
• All rural poor individuals who need to work for a living and desire to perform manual, unskilled labor are welcome to participate in the initiative. The United States is provided with food at no cost.
• This project was incorporated into the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in February 2006.
(NOAPS) National Old Age Pension Scheme
• 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.
The NSAP originally consisted of the following three elements:
• National Old Age Pension Schemes (NOAPS): These programmes offer seniors living below the poverty line social security.
• The National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) offers support in the event that a family breadwinner passes away. A lump sum of Rs. 20,000 is paid to the grieving family.
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 Gramme 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) is referred to as NRLM
• 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 mobilize powerful self-help organizations.
Features
• Universal Social Mobilization: Within a given time frame, at least one woman from each identified rural poor household will be included to the Self Help Group (SHG) network.
• Participatory Identification of the Poor (PIP): CBOs identify the poor in the village themselves through this community-driven method. This list has Gram Sabha's approval.
• Both the Community Investment Fund (CIF) and the Revolving Fund (RF) are provided to the underprivileged in order to enhance their institutions.
• Financial Education: It also encourages financial education among the underprivileged.
• Livelihoods: It supports the poor's current means of subsistence in the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and also develops skills for the outside employment market.
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. All districts in India are intended to be covered by the legislation, with the exception of those with a 100% urban population.
Objectives:
• It offers rural unskilled laborers 100 days of guaranteed salary work.
• The NREGA program's primary goal is to give the economically underprivileged segment of society a means of subsistence.
• It promotes economic security.
• It makes an effort to reduce the flow of manpower from rural to urban areas.
• The MGNREGA programme actively aids the less fortunate members of society.
• The programme will support the Panchayati Raj throughout India.
Mission for Urban Livelihoods
• By reorganizing the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana, DAY-NULM was introduced in 2013 with the intention of assisting the urban poor, especially those who are homeless in cities. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs oversees its implementation.
Features:
• By reorganizing the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana, it was introduced in 2013.
• All district administrative centers and all other towns with a population of 1 lakh or more as of the Census of 2011 will be included.
• NULM will primarily target urban poor people, which will also include urban homeless people.
• The Centre and the States will split the financial support for NULM 75:25.
• The fund sharing ratio for the Special Category States and the North Eastern States will be 90:10.
PMKVY, or 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.
PMJDY, or 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.
• Accounts opened between August 15, 2014, and January 31, 2015, are eligible for accident insurance up to Rs. 1, 00,000 and life insurance up to Rs. 30,000 (there is a pension system for the unorganized sector).
• RuPay Card Coverage: The free accidental insurance coverage on RuPay cards has been increased from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakhs for PMJDY accounts created after August 28, 2018.
• Improvements to overdraft (OD) capabilities include a quadrupling of the OD limit from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 and an increase in the OD limit to Rs 2,000.
• The OD upper age limit has been increased from 60 to 65 years of age.
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.
• 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 laborer’s, 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.
• Beneficiaries are selected using a three-stage validation procedure that includes geotagging, the Socio-Economic Caste Census from 2011, and Gram Sabha.
• Cost-Sharing: In plain areas, the central and state governments split the cost of unit support 60:40 each, and in North Eastern and hilly states, the split is 90:10.
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.
• Two categories, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Households (PHH), are eligible to receive substantially subsidized food grains, with 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population eligible.
• The former Planning Commission, which is now NITI Aayog, determines Stata/UT-specific coverage based on the NSSO's 2011–12 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey. For the purpose of identifying beneficiaries, many states use information from the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC).
• According to the Act, Antyodaya Anna Yojana households are entitled to 35 kg of food grains each month, while Priority Households are only entitled to 5 kg of food grains per person.
• For the purposes of distributing ration cards, the oldest woman in the beneficiary home (18 years or older) is referred to as the "Head of Family."
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 enrol 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.
• All States and UTs in the nation as well as rural local government institutions in non-Part IX areas without Panchayats will be subject to this plan.
• With sufficient infrastructure and people resources, it will establish an institutional framework for PRI capacity building at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Priority will be given to national problems including poverty, primary healthcare, nutrition, vaccination, and other things that have a big effect on excluded groups.
• The National Plan of Technical Assistance, the Mission Mode Project on e-Panchayat, and the incentivization of Panchayats and State Components are the main components of the schemes.
PMAGY, or Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana
• By implementing current programmes of the Central and State Governments in a coordinated manner and utilizing gap-filling funds provided as Central Assistance, the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) aims to integrate the development of selected villages with more than 50% Scheduled Caste (SC) population.
• 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.
• Another 1500 villages in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh were added to the list in 2015.
• PMAGY is used in the designated States to build village roads, community halls/meeting places, community toilets, drainage works, hand pump installation, solar-powered street lighting, and drinking water scheme programmes.
• At the central and state levels, advisory committees would be set up to oversee and provide general direction for the Scheme. The Central Advisory Committee will be presided over by the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
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 (DMF) funds that are created will be used to assist the tribe members.
Objectives:
• To enhance and safeguard the indigenous people's economic standing, natural environment, and health.
• Give the impacted Tribal people many opportunity to profit from the massive amounts of minerals that are taken from their inhabited places.
• To launch welfare programmes in the affected mining regions. Additionally, these initiatives will complement the Central and State Governments' current programmes.
• To lessen the effects of mining work on individuals both during and after it. Additionally, to protect the environment that the tribal peoples depend on.
• To guarantee the long-term sustainability of the impacted tribals' means of subsistence in the mining area.
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.
• Between 2020 and 2025, the survey will be carried out in stages across the nation.
• By allowing the monetization of properties and enabling bank loans, lowering property-related disputes, and complete village level planning, the scheme would be a step towards achieving Gram Swaraj in its genuine sense and making rural India Atmanirbhar.
District transformation in aspirational areas
• The 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' programme aims to successfully transform the districts.
• With the Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme, India hopes to quickly and effectively transform some of its most neglected areas.
• It will identify areas with rapid improvement, track development, and rank regions.
Objectives:
• It seeks to quickly and successfully improve and transform some of India's most neglected districts.
• It will rank districts, pinpoint areas in need of immediate improvement, and track advancement.
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 administers NRuM.
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.
• The Pradhan Mantri Gramme Sadak Yojana's third phase included a proposal to consolidate 1, 25,000 km of road.
• More than 1800 roads with a length of more than 11,000 kilometers and 84 bridges have been built in Jammu & Kashmir as part of the PMGSY.
• All-weather access to a well-known pilgrimage site is provided by the route to Kainthgali from supplies more. Every year, thousands of people visit the location.
• Major roadways, Grames, hospitals, and schools will all be connected by the roads.
SAGY, or Sansad Adarsh Gramme 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.
Objectives:
• To strive towards and track the establishment of the recognised Gram Panchayats from beginning to end.
• By enhancing the essential infrastructure, raising the human standard of living, increasing efficiency, providing better jobs, reducing inequality, and developing social capital, we can improve everyone's way of life and personal development.
• Creating localized development model production
• To establish effective village governance.
• To urge neighboring Village Panchayats to prioritize development.
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 National Social Assistance Programme recognizes the concurrent responsibility of the Central and State Governments in this area, which is a key step towards realizing the Directive Principles in Articles 41 and 42 of the Structure.
• According to Article 41 of the Indian Constitution, the State is required to provide open assistance to its inhabitants in times of unemployment, old age, illness, disability, and other unjustified need, according to the limitations of its financial resources and level of development.
NITI Aayog task force on eradicating poverty
• 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.
• According to the Tendulkar committee's criteria, those whose daily consumption of goods and services surpasses Rs. 33.33 in urban areas and Rs. 27.20 in rural areas are not considered to be poor.
• Statistics show that only 22% of the nation's population is considered to be impoverished.
• One NITI member, a CEA, specialists, and secretaries from pertinent ministries are among the members. There were supposed to be parallel task forces established in every state and union territory.
• Although the government has implemented numerous programmes and has helped millions of people escape poverty over the past ten years, the World Bank estimates that roughly 22% of the population still lives in poverty. Therefore, the existing programmes for reducing poverty can be expanded to better serve the unserved and underserved, assist end poverty, and contribute to achieving the sustainable development objective of ending all forms of poverty by 2030.