Lok Sabha Question No. 2650 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Rural Poverty in Assam
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Md. Rakibul Hussain

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2650 ANSWERED ON 16/12/2025

## RURAL POVERTY IN ASSAM

## 2650. Md. Rakibul Hussain:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has identified any districts in Assam with high rural poverty or unemployment rates, district-wise;
- (b) whether special projects have been implemented for livelihood diversification in such districts, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  number  of  beneficiaries  covered  under  skill-linked  rural employment schemes; and
- (d) the  results  achieved  in  terms  of  income  generation  and  selfemployment?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a) & (b): As per information provided by the State of Assam, the Department of Panchayat and Rural Development has not identified any district in Assam with high rural poverty or unemployment rates. However,  seven  (7)  districts  have  been  identified  as  Aspirational Districts  by  NITI  Aayog,  namely  Baksa,  Barpeta,  Darrang,  Dhubri, Goalpara, Hailakandi, and Udalguri, based on underperformance in key socio-economic indicators.

The Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM) under the Department  of  Panchayat  and  Rural  Development  is  implementing various livelihood diversification measures across the entire State, covering agriculture, livestock, fisheries, organic cultivation, value chain development, formation of producer groups and promotion of women-led enterprises. These interventions have benefited a large number of women Self Help Group (SHG) members statewide.

Special value chain projects  and  enterprise  development initiatives are also being implemented in selected areas of the State, along with support for producer groups, integrated farming clusters, Farmer Producer Organizations, village-level entrepreneurs and food processing units under convergence with relevant schemes.

(c) & (d): Under the skill-linked rural employment schemes of this Ministry, the Rural Mason Training (RMT) programme has been rolled out  in  assistance from the  National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) with a set  target  to  train  adequate  number  of  masons.  As  of  09.12.2025, under the RMT program, 3,81,986 candidates have been enrolled, of which 3,08,330 have been certified. In the State of Assam, 12,914 candidates  have  been  enrolled,  out  of  which  11,819  have  been certified.

In addition to the on-site training model, a parallel RMT initiative has been introduced from Financial Year 2025-26 through the Rural Self  Employment  Training  Institutes  (RSETIs)  operating  under  the DeenDayal  Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY)  to broaden  outreach  and  strengthen  livelihood  opportunities.  As  on 30.11.2025, a total of 8,048 candidates have been certified through this initiative at national level and 207 candidates have been certified in the State of Assam.

Further, under DDU-GKY, 86118 rural youth have been trained and 53288 have been placed while under RSETI, 189061 rural youth have been trained and 123587 have been settled since inception till

Oct 2025 in the State of Assam.

The SECC 2011 list and  the  finalised  Awaas+  2018  list  have been  saturated  in  the  State  under  PMAY-G,  with  interventions focused on three core areas, namely provision of PMAY-G houses, mason skill training including training through RSETIs, and employment  generation  linked  to  PMAY-G.  Further,  under  PMAYG,  the  construction  of  a  house  generates  direct  employment  of approximately 201 person-days, which includes 56 skilled, 34 Semiskilled, and 111 unskilled person-days.

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