The Ministry of Rural Development(MoRD) has adopted multi-pronged strategies to improve the economic well-being of people in rural areas with the main focus on increasing livelihood opportunities, empowering rural women, providing social safety net skilling of rural youth, infrastructure development etc. through its Programmes. In this regard, the Government is implementing a number of targeted programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY NRLM), Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and Watershed Development Component (WDC) of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY). Apart from this, Ministry of Jal Shakti is implementing Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) in rural areas.  Increasing budgetary allocation under the schemes/ programmes of rural development is continuous process.  Funds are allocated taking into consideration adherence of the provisions under the schematic guidelines and assessing the actual requirement at the ground level.

MGNREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme that provides for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It offers rural households fall back livelihood options when better employment opportunities are unavailable.

 Additionally, it mandates an extra 50 days of wage employment for Scheduled Tribe households in forest areas and provides for an additional 50 days of wage employment in drought or natural calamity-affected rural areas. State Governments have the option to allocate additional days of employment beyond the guaranteed period using their funds.

All the schemes/programmes of this Ministry aim at improving the standard of living of the rural people including creation of employment and livelihood opportunities. For creating employment opportunities and impart skills to rural people including SCs/STs/OBCs/ Minority communities, wherever applicable, 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, DDU- GKY 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. However, this Ministry does not implement any employment guarantee scheme specifically for Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Scheduled Tribes (STs)/Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Minority communities.

Apart from this, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana to increase the skill levels of the target youth by providing for long-term and short-term skills, followed by engagement in wage/self-employment which caters for empowerment of socially, educationally and economically marginalized sections of the society including SCs, OBCs, De-notified Tribes, Economically Backward Classes etc. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is implementing 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). 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.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Kamlesh Paswan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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