Lok Sabha Question No. 901 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-07
Subject: Village Employment
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sangeeta Azad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 901

ANSWERED ON 07/02/2023

## VILLAGE EMPLOYMENT

## 901. SHRIMATI SANGEETA AZAD:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is taking any steps to boost rural incomes and generate village employment starting from grassroots and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of steps taken by the Government to boost Self Help Groups and NGOs in rural areas in recent years; and
- (c) the details of steps taken by the Government to boost social outcomes in the field of health, sanitation and education in rural areas in recent years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a) & (b): The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing a number of welfare schemes for rural areas of the country viz., Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deen Dayal Upadhayay - Gramin Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural  Self  Employment  and  Training  Institutes  (RSETIs),  National  Social  Assistance Programme  (NSAP),  Shyama  Prasad  Mukherji  Rurban  Mission  (SPMRM)  and  Watershed Development  Component  (WDC)  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY). These schemes work towards bringing about overall development of rural areas, providing basic  amenities  and  facilities  like  providing  pucca  house,  all  weather  road  connectivity, strengthening of livelihood opportunities, providing minimum guaranteed rural employment, promoting selfemployment, skilling of rural youths in various useful trades and entrepreneurship qualities, infrastructure development and provision of social assistance.

For  creating  employment  opportunities  and  impart  skills  to  rural  people,  this  Ministry  is implementing  a  number  of  schemes  viz.,  MGNREGS,  DDU-GKY  and  RSETI.  While MGNREGS assures guaranteed employment to unskilled workers in the rural areas, DDUGKY and RSETI schemes promote employability through either wage or self-employment leading  to  economic  and  social  development  of  youths  of  rural  area  of  the  country.  Apart from this, under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is implementing its flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) for Skill based  training  of  the  youth  across  the  country  including  of  youth  belonging  to  Scheduled Caste/  Scheduled  Tribe/  Economically  weaker  Section  under  Short  Term  Training  (STT) courses  and  Recognition  of  Prior  Learning  (RPL).Under  PMKVY,  STT  is  linked  to placement,  while  RPL  does  not  mandate  placements  as  it  recognizes  the  existing  skills  of candidate. Similarly, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises is implementing Prime Minister's  Employment  Generation  Programme  (PMEGP),  which  is  a  major  credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans and unemployed youth.

DAY-NRLM is also working to mobilize rural poor women in Self Help Groups (SHGs) and to  create  additional  livelihood  opportunities  for  them  through  provisions  of credit,  orientation  on  key  livelihood  skills  and  advisory  support  besides  taking  up  value chain development activities. Under the Scheme, the following steps have been taken to boost SHGs in rural areas:

- i. Start  Up  Village  Entrepreneurship  Programme  (SVEP),  which  aims  to  support entrepreneurs in rural areas to set up enterprises with an objective to  form entrepreneurial eco system for SHGs.
- ii. Aajeevika  Grameen  Express  Yojana  (AGEY)  aims  to  provide  safe,  affordable  and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote rural villages and for overall economic development of the area.
- iii. Convergence initiatives have been taken up with MGNREGS, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Food Processing  Industries,  Ministry  of  Panchayati  Raj,  Ministry  of  Micro,  Small  and Medium Enterprises etc.
- iv. DAY-NRLM is  also  promoting  certified  organic  agriculture  through  Participatory Guarantee Scheme (PGS) of National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) to provide more remunerative price to the small and marginal farmers for their organic produce.
- v. SHG members as Business Correspondents/Digipay Sakhi is an initiative to provide last mile delivery of financial services including deposit, credit, remittance, disbursement  of  pensions  &  scholarships,  payment  of  MGNREGA  wages  and enrollment under insurance and pension schemes.
- vi. National Rural Economic  Transformation  Project (NRETP)  is  a World  Bank supported  project  with  an  objective  to  establish  efficient  and  effective  institutional platforms for the rural poor to provide sustainable livelihood.

As of 31st December, 2022, DAY-NRLM has mobilised 8.75 crore rural women members  into  81.24  lakh  SHGs,  across  723  districts  and  6893  blocks  of  34  States  and Union Territories. These SHGs have been federated into 4.73 lakh Village Organisations (VOs) and 30862 Cluster Level Federations (CLF). DAY-NRLM has also trained 4.13 lakh community resource  persons  who  are  skilled  in  different  thematic  areas  such  as  gender, financial inclusion, livelihood promotion, nutrition etc. As of 31st December, 2022, 41.84 lakh  SHGs  have  been  provided  with  revolving  funds,  and  23.22  lakh  SHGs  have  been provided  with  Community  Investment  Funds  as  capital  support.  (Source:  DAY-NRLM MIS).

(c): The Government  is also implementing various schemes for socioeconomic upliftment  of  rural  areas  and  its  people  through  various  other  Ministries,  namely,  Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, Ujala scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana,  Pradhan  Mantri  Suraksha  Bima  Yojana,  National  Health  Mission  including National  Rural  Health  Mission,  Ayushman  Bharat  -  Pradhan  mantri  Jan  Aarogya  Yojana, Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Saksharta  Abhiyan,  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee Yojana,  Samagra  Shiksha  Scheme,  Padhna  Likhna  Abhiyan,  PM-Poshan,  National  Meanscum-Merit  Scholarship  Scheme  for  meritorious  students  of  economically  weaker  sections, Pre-Matric  and  Post-Matric  Scholarship  Schemes  for  Scheduled  Castes,  Scheduled  Tribes and  Minority  communities,  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  Swachh  Bharat  Abhiyan,  National  Food Security Act, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana etc. All these schemes individually or in  synergy  with  one  another  help  to  augment  health,  education  levels  and  cleanliness  in villages of India.

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