Poverty Alleviation
Programmes in India
DR CHANDRIKA
introduction
There is a higher incidence of poverty in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
This is testified by the Planning Commission’s estimate for 2011-12 that 25.7 per
cent of the rural population was living below the poverty line (Rs 816 per capita
per month for rural areas) while for urban areas the proportion was 13.7 per cent
of the population being below the poverty line (Rs 1,000 per capita per month for
urban areas).
While more than a tenth of the urban population was living below the urban
poverty line in 2011-12, a quarter of the rural population was living below the
rural poverty line (Planning Commission, 2013).
Oldest schemes:
Integrated Rural Development Programme :The Integrated Rural Development
Programme (IRDP) was started in 1980-81 in all blocks of the country and
continued as a major self-employment scheme till April 1, 1999. Then, it was
restructured as the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana which aimed at self-
employment of the rural poor.
Reports of corruption and payoffs to middlemen were pervasive, and few
households claimed to have utilized loans for productive purposes. For instance, a
review of the experience of 394 poor households in Bankura District in West
Bengal found various kinds of misconduct under IRDP that penalized the target
group. Banks in the sample improperly deducted 10 percent of the loan as charges,
and most beneficiaries were told or perceived that they did not have to repay the
loan portion. Additionally, middlemen “captured” subsidies of credit-based anti-
poverty programmes, effectively increasing the cost of such transactions.
ALLIED PROGRAMMES
One of IRDP’s facilitating components, TRYSEM was aimed at providing basic
technical and entrepreneurial skills to the rural poor in the age group of 18-35
years to take up income-generating activities. The concurrent evaluation of IRDP
(1992-93) showed that less than 4 per cent of beneficiaries received training under
TRYSEM. The rural youth so trained were only interested in the stipends; they
had not used the knowledge gained under the programme for furthering self-
employment prospects. TRYSEM had a weak link with the overall strategy for
self-employment in rural areas and with industrial policy. The training was not
related to capacity or aptitude of trainees nor to demand for the respective skill. It
was impossible for trained rural youth to run a self-employment enterprise, given
the poor technological base and uncertainty over availability of credit.
Contd..
Launched in 1992, SITRA (south India Textile Research Association) was a sub-
scheme of IRDP in selected districts but was later extended to all the districts of
the country. Under this scheme, a variety of artisans were supplied with kit of
improved hand-tools. It was all within a financial ceiling of Rs.2,000, of which
the artisans had to pay 10 per cent and the rest was subsidy from the Central
Government. Reports indicate that the scheme has been well received by rural
artisans and they are able to raise their income levels by use of improved tools.
Self-Help Movement in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh has taken up empowerment of women under DWCRA(Development of Women
and children in Rural Areas):
The programme is in the nature of a mass movement by Self Help Groups (SHGs) through thrift
and savings and promises to be a potent tool to tackle socio-economic poverty. Here is an
opportunity for the women to participate in other programmes like family welfare as well and
improve educational and nutritional status of their children. The programme creates in them an
awareness about environment and public health and hygiene. There are 79,000 women-formed
SHGs covering about 11.25 lakh of them. A 1997-98 survey by DWCRA/SHGs spoke of the
programme’s positive impact on the size of the family and number of children going to school.
Not just an allied programme of IRDP, DWCRA in Andhra Pradesh is shaping as a vehicle by
which women are encouraged to unleash their inherent potential in the manner they did during
the famous antiarrack movement – but this time to battle for socio-economic development. . A
mass savings movement (Podupulaxmi) was launched among women and this has come to give
every DWCRA member higher income than non-members.
Contd..
Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) :
IRDP and allied programmes such as TRYSEM, DWCRA, SITRA & GKY along with
MWS(Million Wells Scheme) were merged into a single programme under Swarnjayanti Gram
Swarozgar Yojana w.e.f. April, 1999. The SGSY is a holistic programme and aims at covering all
aspects of self-employment, namely, organisation of rural poor, training, participatory approach
to planning of self-employment ventures and provision of infrastructure facilities, technology,
credit and marketing arrangements.
Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) :
JRY was launched as Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 1st April, 1989 by merging National Rural
Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme
(RLEGP). Its main objective was generation of additional gainful employment for the
unemployed and under-employed people in rural areas through the creation of rural economic
infrastructure, community and social assets with the aim of improving the quality of life of the
rural poor. Now (SGRY)
Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) : Launched on Gandhi Jayanti Day (2nd
October) in 1993, the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) was initially in
operation in 1772 backward blocks. The blocks were identified in drought prone
areas, deserts, tribal areas and hill region areas where the Revamped Public
Distribution System (RPDS) was in operation. Gradually, EAS was extended to
other blocks and by 1997-98 the scheme was being implemented in country’s
5448 rural blocks in all. As its primary objective, EAS is set to create additional
wage employment opportunities during a period of acute shortage through manual
work for the rural poor. The secondary objective is the creation of durable
community, social and economic assets for sustained employment and
development. Though open to all rural poor, the programme is expected to attract
only unskilled people below the poverty line because it offers only the minimum
wages.
National Social Assistance Programme : The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) was
introduced as a 100 per cent Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August 1995.
It has three components: namely
(i) National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS),
(ii) National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and (iii) National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS).
The programme represents a significant step towards fulfilment of the Directive Principles in
Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution. NSAP supplements efforts of State Governments with the
objective of ensuring minimum national levels of well-being and the Central assistance is not meant
to displace the State’s own expenditure on Social Protection 220 Schemes. The States/Union
Territories (UTs) may also expand their own coverage of social assistance independently wherever
they wish to do so.
After some trouble in initial years, NSAP is now a popular programme. The entire allocation of Rs
560.00 crore in 1997-98 and Rs 640.20 in 1998-99 was fully utilized.
Rural Housing – Indira Awaas Yojana:
The Indira Awaas Yojana (LAY) programme aims at providing free housing to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families
in rural areas and main targets would be the households of SC/STs. It was first merged with the Jawahar Rozgar
Yojana (JRY) in 1989 and in 1996 it broke away from JRY into a separate housing scheme for the rural poor
Now , Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojna(2015)
Food for Work Programme:
The Food for Work Programme was started in 2000-01 .It was first launched in eight drought-affected states of
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttaranchal. It aims
at enhancing food security through wage employment. Food grains are supplied to states free of cost, however, the
supply of food grains from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns has been slow.
National Food for Work Programme:
It was launched on November 14, 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country. The objective of the
programme was to provide additional resources available under Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojna. This was 100%
centrally funded programme. Now this programme has been subsumed in the MGNREGA from Feb 2, 2006.
Oldest and Important Schemes
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA)
and the Public Distribution System (PDS) are prominent examples of the running
policies for poverty alleviation in rural India.
Before the MGNREGA and the PDS working under new legislation, the Integrated
Rural Development Program (IRDP), the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS), the
National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and the National Old Age Pension Scheme
(NOAPS) represent some of the older schemes aimed at benefitting poor people in
rural India.
The MGNREGA came into force in 2006 and the scheme guarantees 150 days of paid
work a year to people in rural areas. The policy aims to improve opportunities for
rural people in gaining employment by providing guaranteed wage employment for
unskilled manual work. By 2018, 1.5 million households were registered under the
MGNREGA (Ministry of Rural Development – GoI, 2018).
Contd..
The Public Distribution System (PDS) is another programme that helps in improving
the quality of life of impoverished populations in India. The National Food Security
Act (NFSA), 2013 ties up with the PDS for distribution of food in India for
providing subsidized food grains.
About 50 per cent of the urban population and about 75 per cent of the rural
population is covered by the purview of the Act and beneficiaries are entitled to
receive 5 kg of food grains in a month per person at subsidized rates of Rs 3/2/1 per
kg of rice, wheat or coarse grains respectively.
The Act has been implemented in all of the states and union territories in India and
the government claims that out of a coverage target of 813.4 million people, the
policy has reached 807.2 million people in total for both rural and urban areas (GoI,
2018). There are some discrepancies however, over the implementation of certain
provisions of the Act by some states
New Rural Poverty Alleviation
Programmes in India
Several poverty alleviation programmes in India meant to address poverty alleviation
directly or indirectly have been launched by the incumbent government such as:
the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – a financial inclusion scheme,
the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana – a housing scheme for the rural poor,
the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) – aimed at increasing pension scheme beneficiaries in
India,
the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) – aimed at fostering infrastructure development
in rural areas,
the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) – a crop insurance scheme,
the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana – aimed at attracting irrigation investments,
the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) – for skill
development of rural youth, being some examples (Sarkari Yojana, 2018).
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna:
The cabinet on March 21, 2015 cleared the scheme to provide skill training to 1.4 million youth
with an overall outlay of Rs. 1120 crore. This plan is implemented with the help of Ministry of
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation.
It will focus on fresh entrant to the labour market, especially labour market and class X and XII
dropouts.
National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojna (HRIDAY):
HRIDAY scheme was launched (21 Jan. 2015) to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural
heritage of the country. This Rs. 500 crore programme was launched by Urban Development
Ministry in New Delhi. Initially it is launched in 12 cities: Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri,
Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka, Badami, Velankanni, Kanchipuram, Warangal and Amarvati.
These programmes played/are playing a very crucial role in the development of the all sections
of the society so that the concept of holistic development can be ensured in the real sense.
Some rural poverty alleviation programmes in India.
Some important
schemes
Name of Programme Purpose Date of coming into force
Helping micro-enterprises by
Integrated Rural Development extending loans to beneficiaries for
1979
Programme (IRDP) the purchase of assets and by
subsidizing asset costs.
Distribution of subsidized food and
Public Distribution System (PDS) 1992
non-food items to India’s poor.
Providing meals to school children
Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) 1995
and improving their nutritional status.
Financial compensation provided to
National Family Benefit Scheme kin in case of the natural death of a
1995
(NFBS) below poverty line primary
breadwinner.
National Old Age Pension Scheme A pension scheme for people of old
1995
(NOAPS) age.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Help in providing livelihood security
Employment Guarantee Act by guaranteeing minimum days of 2006
(MNREGA) work for rural labour.
To ensure financial inclusion by
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
ensuring access to financial services 2014
(PMJDY)
in an affordable manner.
Pradhan Mantri GraminAwaas
A housing scheme for the rural poor. 2017
Yojana
Schemes during LOCKDOWN
https://www.bloombergquint.com/economy-finance/10-government-measures-to-
help-poor-through-lockdown
