Lok Sabha Question No. 334 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-19
Subject: Development of Rural Areas
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dharambir Singh

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 334

ANSWERED ON 19/07/2022

## DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS

## 334. SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the development of rural areas has been one of the priorities of the Government;
- (b) if  so,  the  action  taken  to  remove  the  imbalance  between  urban  and  rural  India  and steps taken by Government to make villages self-sufficient; and
- (c) the action taken for the weaker sections living in rural areas to have a pucca house, an all weather road to reach the nearest facilities or markets, employment opportunities, pensions for old persons, widows and physically handicapped and training to impart skills to people of rural areas of the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) &  (b):  Yes,  Sir.  Development  of  rural  areas  is  one  of  the  key  priorities  of  the Government.  In this regard, 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)  to  bring  about  overall  development  of  rural  areas.  These schemes  have  been  framed  to  deliver  basic  amenities  and  facilities  like  providing  pucca house,  all  weather  road  connectivity,  strengthening  of  livelihood  opportunities,  providing minimum  guaranteed  rural  employment,  promoting  self-employment,  skilling  of  rural youths  in  various  useful  trades  and  entrepreneurship  qualities,  infrastructure  development and provision of social assistance.

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  Government  is  also  implementing  various  schemes  of  other Ministries  for  socio-economic  upliftment  of  rural  areas  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,  Poshan  Abhiyan,  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  Swachh  Bharat  Abhiyan,  National  Food Security Act, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana etc.

These schemes/programmes work towards the objective of the Government to remove ruralurban  imbalances,  provide  self-sufficiency  in  villages  and  promote  balanced  economic growth.

(c): The Government focuses on development of rural areas by provision of basic amenities and facilities which include inter-alia, housing, connectivity, employment opportunities and social security measures to the rural people.

With a view to provide a pucca house for the weaker sections living in rural areas, this Ministry is implementing PMAY-G, which aims to provide assistance to eligible rural households for construction of 2.95 Crore Pucca houses with basic amenities to achieve the objective of 'Housing for All' in rural areas.  To allow the beneficiaries a dignified living, the scheme aimed at converging benefits from other initiatives aiming at provision of basic services to household. PMAY-G has been converged with Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) for construction of toilets. Simultaneous efforts are also made for convergence of other amenities like piped drinking water, electricity connection, LPG connection etc. under various government programs.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) implements Rural Mason Training (RMT) programme under PMAY-G to address the issue of less availability of skilled masons in the rural  areas.  RMT  programme  ensures  that  the  houses  constructed  under  PMAY-G  are  of good quality. This not only ensures that the houses constructed under PMAY-G are of good quality  but  also  provides  livelihood  opportunities  to  the  persons  who  have  undergone training.

This Ministry is also implementing PMGSY, which was launched in the year 2000 as a measure towards alleviation of poverty in rural areas by providing access to basic services to the rural population by providing them good quality roads, connect habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets, Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals. MGNERGS also provides for taking of work for construction of all weather rural roads to unconnected villages and to connect  identified rural  production  centres  to  the  existing  pucca  road  network  and construction of pucca internal roads or streets within a village.

In the year 2013, PMGSY-II was launched for upgradation of selected Through Routes and Major Rural Links (MRLs) with a target to upgrade 50,000 Kms in various states and Union Territories.  Union  Government  had  approved  the  PMGSY  III  programme  in  2019,  which mainly focuses on the consolidation of existing Through routes and Major Rural Links that connect  habitations  to  Gramin  Agricultural  Markets  (GrAMs),  Higher  Secondary  Schools and Hospitals and aims to construct 1,25,000 Kms of road.

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. 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. NRLM target groups include households, with minimum one deprivation criteria, automatic inclusion of households from SECC data and households identified through a participatory identification process and vetted by Gram Sabha. 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.

With a view to provide pensions to old persons, widows and physically handicapped, this Ministry  is  implementing  NSAP  which  is  a  social  security/social  welfare  programme  for below poverty line households applicable to senior citizens, widows, disabled persons and bereaved families on death of primary bread winner. Under NSAP, three pension schemes, namely: i) Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), ii) Indira Gandhi National  Widow  Pension  Scheme  (IGNWPS)  and  iii)  Indira  Gandhi  National  Disability Pension Scheme(IGNDPS) are  implemented for the persons belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.  National Family Benefit Scheme supports financial assistance on the death of primary breadwinner of BPL families.

Under NSAP, monthly pension at the rate of Rs.300/- per person per month to widows and disable  persons  in  the  age  group  of  40  to  79  years  and  18  to  79  years,  respectively,  and Rs.200/-  per  person  per  month  to  old  age  persons  in  the  age  group  of  60  to  79  years belonging to  BPL households is being paid. The amount of pension is increased to Rs. 500/per person per month in respect of these beneficiaries on reaching the age of 80 years. A onetime assistance of Rs.20,000/-is provided to a bereaved BPL family on the death of the primary breadwinner of the family.

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