Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana

Rural development schemes in India or the Integrated Rural Development Programme was brought about as a revolutionary change in the structure as well as functioning of the weaker sections of society, both economically as well as socially. The main necessity as well as aim of these rural development schemes was that of providing these people with employment opportunities as well as with opportunities in order to improve as well as enhance their skill sets as well as living conditions.

In simple words, the main aim as well as significant importance of the Integrated Rural Development Programme or schemes is to make an effort in the upliftment of the people that fall under the Below Poverty Line (BPL), residing in the rural areas, by providing them with employment opportunities as well as other methods to build income as well as generate credit, among other features. In India, the government has introduced a large variety of rural development schemes under the Integrated Rural Development Programme. Among these, one of the schemes is the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna.

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana 

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana was a rural development scheme brought out by the Government of India as a path to uplifting as well as enhancing the lives of those that fall under the Below Poverty Line as well as those residing in the rural areas. The scheme was first introduced in the year 1999-2000 in the month of April as a scheme enclosing six other similar schemes that fall under the same purview. The six other replaced schemes were Integrated Rural Development Programme, Training for Rural Youth for Self Employment, Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas, Supply of Improved Toolkits for Rural Artisans, and Ganga Kalyan Yojana as well as Million Wells Scheme.

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is a scheme run by both the central as well as the state governments in a 75:25 ratio while also being one that is deployed by commercial banks, cooperative banks as well as regional banks. Along with these institutions, several other institutions are involved as well, such as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s), District Rural Development Agencies (DRCA) as well as the local surrounding Panchayati Raj organisations.

These networks of institutions as well as organisations worked together as a measure of looking into the implementation, planning as well as monitoring of the scheme as well as the smooth structure and functioning of the scheme.

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, as the name suggests, focuses mainly on those low-income groups or families, who, in local dialect, are known as Swarozgars. It seeks to help them rise above the poverty line through income as well as employment generation.

However, for this to efficiently take place, one has to focus on first building up the lives as well as skills of these people through training, capacity building, social mobilisation as well as sustainable income among others. This is possible only through the organising as well as maintaining of Self Help Groups (SHG’s) by joining the rural population into these organisations or institutions.

Features of the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana 

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is an important as well as popular scheme. Some noteworthy features under this scheme that help gain a better understanding are:

• The scheme focuses on every possible aspect of employment opportunities such as in the infrastructure industry, marketing industry, technology industry while also providing target groups with training and credit.

• The main objective of the scheme is to provide every underprivileged family with a minimum monthly income of Rs, 2000 in order to lift them above the poverty line in an estimated time of three years.

• The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana has different focuses for different groups that fall under the economically as well as socially deprived groups. 50% of the focus of the scheme falls on the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, while the rest is focused on women and disabled groups.

• The different institutions involved in the management as well as execution of the scheme come together in order to identify 4-5 different areas for these people to participate in, based on resources, occupational skills, and market availability.

• The scheme provides credit to the population through loans which, once sanctioned, play a role in providing the target population with different programs. These help to spread knowledge under various fields such as markets, bookkeeping, bank relations among other short-term courses along with skill development and other training programs.

• Providing the target population with the ideal infrastructure for the building, running, and production of self-employed micro-enterprises in the rural areas forms one of the key focus areas of the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. 

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana Scheme 

For each of the different blocks or sections of the target population, there are four to five identified key areas of work or activity which intend to reach an estimated 75% of the population as the work will be allotted in clusters or groups. The areas of work are divided into clusters such as farming activities of various forms, such as irrigation farming. The non-farming community would be involved in areas such as market activities, including the production of goods and services.

The division as well as the selection of the area of activity entrusted to each sector, group, or cluster is done in a manner such that the target individual, known as the Swarozgari, would be allotted a monthly stipend of not less than minimum Rs, 2000.

Along with this, the area or realm of work is such that the individual or Swarozgari is able to expand his base, skills as well as assets in the future and may even be sufficiently funded as well as skilled to be self-employed in a preferred skillset or industry of the individual’s likes or choice.

The only manner in which a self-help group as well as the success of the scheme can function is from the loans provided by the banks. These loans, after the stipulated period of time, are to be repaid to the banks. To ensure efficiency of the process, the banks will go through every possible step to recover the loans. If the subsidy is not duly paid back in terms, despite different measures, the banks may even forfeit as well as shut down the self-help group or self-employed organisations as well as other courses that are a part of it.

Other than providing loans, banks also play a major role in the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana scheme through monitoring, planning, implementation, and preparation of different projects under the scheme. The banks also identify potential individuals, creating the right infrastructure development.

In order for efficient as well as effective monitoring and implementation of the scheme, the banks also set up cells in the regional offices that periodically review the credit flow as well as the implementation of the scheme and its guidelines while also gathering data and looking into its accuracy. These periodic reviews are then discussed at length during meetings that are compulsory for the banks to attend and be in the know-how of while also maintaining coordination as well as mutual cooperation and respect among the different agencies that are involved in the scheme, its implementation, review as well as monitoring.

Conclusion

In short, the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana scheme was one of the earliest as well as significantly important schemes that took place under the Integrated Rural Development Programme during the early 2000’s. The scheme is focused on achieving goals of employment as well as sustainable, continued income for economically and socially weaker sections of society and helping them rise above the poverty line.