Alleviation Scheme

India ranks as one of the fastest developing countries. In this race of keeping all the factors intact, our country juggles managing social issues and poverty. The government in India has launched several poverty eradication schemes. However, there is a long way to go for a poverty scheme to be successful.

Agriculture has been the backbone of India. Agricultural states in India, including Punjab, Haryana, witness fewer poverty-related issues. For the people in agricultural states, their staple source of income is through their farms and fields. These states also emphasise human resource development and have a very high literacy rate. Apart from these states, the government has introduced various poverty alleviation schemes for other financially depleting sectors. 

Poverty alleviation schemes

Below are the different alleviation schemes.

National Food for Work Programme

This poverty alleviation scheme was started on 14th November 2004 in around 150 backward districts of the country. The main objective of this scheme was to increase the number of extra wage jobs. This programme was specially designed for unskilled employers. These unskilled employers belong to rural India. The extra wage employment would fully utilise their potential in unskilled labouring and thus give them a source of employment.

This scheme has been funded entirely by the central government. The entire state has been provided with free food grains for distribution to people below poverty. With this, the state has been entitled to handling and transporting the grains. 

Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana

This scheme was launched in April 1999. This poverty alleviation scheme was started to aid all the poor families above the poverty line by providing them with self-help groups where the banks provide the credit, and the government provides the subsidies.

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana

This scheme was launched in 2001, and it aims at giving additional wages facilities to all the people who are employed in the rural area. With this, employees also get the facilities of food security and other necessary nutrition to improve the nutrition level among people. All those willing to do unskilled manual work around their village areas also get assisted with all the government aid. This programme was implemented by the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the rural areas. 

Rural Housing – Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

The rural housing yojana was actually operationalised from 1999-to 2000. This scheme was majorly designed for the poor, aiming to provide them with free construction of houses. In this poverty alleviation scheme, the Ministry of Rural Development provides the equity facility to the Housing and Urban Development Corporation.

Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP)

This scheme was launched in 1995, and the main motive behind this scheme was to provide people with self-employment opportunities in small towns and rural areas like a village where the opportunity is very less.

Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY)

The Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana scheme was initiated in 1993. This scheme aims to provide educational and employment opportunities to the youth with a family income of Rs 40,000 per annum. The scheme aims for both the urban and rural parts of the country. From the employment perspective, this scheme aims to set up industries for the youth. The scheme also staunchly focuses on education facilities and ample income sources to uplift the poverty inflation. 

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

This poverty alleviation scheme was launched in 2000. This scheme was 100 per cent sponsored by the state. The main objective of this program was to aid rural area connectivity to the unconnected areas. This scheme applied to a population of 500 persons or more than that in the rural parts of the country. The scheme also lays the fundamentals for building roads for improving the connection with other parts of the state/cities. The multilateral agencies have also funded the scheme and extended their support.

Conclusion

Poverty eradication schemes have done so much to help reduce the gap between the poor and the rich in India. For a country like India, proper execution of these schemes is essential. The Panchayati Raj has started many multilateral programmes and schemes in the rural areas to uplift the people below and above the poverty line.