Poverty Alleviation measures and schemes adopted by the Government of India.
List them briefly
Answers
Poverty Alleviation Schemes in India
There have been many poverty alleviation schemes in India since independence. Agriculture was given priority first. Five year plans were meant for growth and eradication of poverty. Employment opportunities were raised by public sectors. Poverty can be eradicated when the poor take active part in the schemes. They need to educate their children subsequently.
Most of these schemes aim at the poverty in rural areas, as the rural people are much poorer than urban people. Some of the schemes are sponsored by state governments and some are sponsored by the central government. The implementation happens from the mandal offices, block development offices, panchayats or Panchayat Raj Institutions etc. The schemes were like daily wage based employment, self-employment schemes, and food security based schemes. There are also social security aspects like free education, free health facilities, old age pension etc.
Jawahar Gram Saridhi Yojana (JGSY) or Jawahar Rojgar Yojana of 1999 was to construct roads among villages and develop villages. National old age pensions scheme (NAOPS) gives pension to poor old people above 65 years, that do not have any means to sustain themselves.
Integrated Rural development Program IRDP (1978 onwards) provides finance (credit) from financial institutions and then subsidy from the government for materials or infrastructure. This scheme also aims at imparting skills to people. Agricultural labourers, artisans and farmers were targeted.
Under a scheme of IRDA rural skilled artisans were proved improved and more efficient toolkits and equipment (SITRA scheme). DWCRA is another good scheme that developed a lot of self help groups and empowered women a lot.
National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) gives a lump sum amount to the family below poverty line, in case of unfortunate death of the main earning member of the family, above 18 years. There were literacy schemes like Total Literacy Campaign. There are schemes like PODUPULAKSHMI in Andhra Pradesh. Anganwadi is another scheme.
Also freeing poor people and children in villages of bonded labour was a great step towards alleviation of poverty. Further, giving reservations to scheduled tribes, castes and other backward castes is a step towards their social empowerment. But these reservation schemes did do some harm to the system as even financially sound people from these castes avail of the reservations. That deprives true meritorious students from poor but from forward castes.
There was a Million wells scheme by National Rural Employment Program (NREP), RLEGP and JRY schemes. These were to develop new irrigation wells and water harvesting facilities. Many state governments give money to poor bride and bridegroom on their marriage. The girl child is given free education up to degree level too.
Rural Housing under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) is a very good scheme to provide strong solid residence for the people. Started in 1999. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is a more recent scheme that guarantees rural people of work at least for 150 days in a year.
Annapurna scheme (1999) provided food to senior citizens and old people who did not have any body to take care of them in family. They were not covered under the Old age pension schemes. The public distribution scheme (PDS) gives essential commodities (based on income) at cheaper rates than in other shops.
A component of IRDP, is training of the Rural Youth for Self-employment (TRYSEM). Technical and entrepreneurial skills are imparted to young men and women. National Maternity Benefit scheme provides cash to pregnant ladies for the first two offsprings during pregnancy period. Land reforms were undertaken for alleviation of poverty. Land ceiling act and redistribution of land was in this category. There were Prime minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY), Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY), Jayaprakash Rozgar Yojana (JPRGY), Rural housing schemes and so on.
For urban areas, there is a prime minister’s integrated urban poverty eradication program (PMIUPEP) for people below poverty line (BPL) in the urban areas. There were also Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna and National Social Assistance programme (NSAP).
Now there are campaigns like Digital India to develop skills in information technology and computers to lakhs. Make in India program will generate employment. Development of non-conventional energy sources will generate employment and open new sectors.
There are a lot of measures taken to enable faster growth of infrastructure in India by Human resources ministry. People are given access to banks, e-seva or e-government facilities and better public distribution schemes. Many big private sectors are involved in schemes benefiting poor people and orphans. Even swach Bharat Abhiyan helps poor people in bettering their lifestyle. That enables them to march better towards prosperity.