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Reports and Committees

1. India Human Development Report, 2011

• The recently released Human Development Report, 2011 with the theme ‘Towards Social Inclusion’ haspraised the efforts of poorer States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in making the development process more‘socially inclusive’ through improving the lot of their marginalized Dalits and Tribals. However it haslamented the richer and developed States like Gujarat wherein the process has not been ‘socially inclusive’.

The highlights of the Report are as follows:

• The overall Human Development Index (HDI) for the country has improved through the last decade, withthe inequality gap between States narrowing down. In the last decade the HDI increased by 21 per centfrom 0.387 in 1999-2000 to 0.467 in 2007- 08.

• The HDI list has been topped by Kerala with highest education, health and consumption expenditureindex. It is followed by Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Goa.

• Chhattisgarh, Orissa, MP, UP, Jharkhand & Assam have an HDI below the national average of 0.467. MPhas the lowest HDI value and thus is at the bottom.

• In some poorer States like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Chhattisgarh, Orissa & Assam the quantum ofimprovement in HDI has been higher than the national average of 21 per cent.

• The overall increase in HDI is attributed to 28.5 per cent increase in education index across the country.It ranges from 0.92 for Kerala to 0.41 in case of Bihar. The improvement in the education index was the“greatest” in States like UP, Rajasthan & MP. However, according to the Report, India is also home tomore than one-third of the global world illiterates wherein the percentage of illiterates from SC, ST andMuslim minority community are very high. Among SC/ST, more than 50 per cent of women are illiterates.

• The improvement in health index has been slow. It has improved by 13.2 per cent in the last decade. Thehighest growth in the health improvement has been noted in Goa (72%) followed by Chhattisgarh (22%).In Delhi the growth rate is a meager 4 per cent. Further there exists wide inter-State variation in the healthindex. It ranges from 0.82 in Kerala to 0.41 in Assam.

• The prevailing condition of sanitation is threatening according to the report. Though half of the populationhad access to sanitation in 2008 still there exists wide inter-State variation. In the States of MP, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, still 75 per cent of the population does not haveaccess to sanitation.

• The most serious challenge arises on the nutrition front. Though Madhya Pradesh still is numero uno inmalnutrition and undernutrition, more concern arises from the increase in malnutrition in the richer anddeveloped States like Gujarat. The State with 69.7% kids up to 5 being anaemic and 44.6% suffering frommalnutrition, proves that high growth was no guarantor of improvement in health.

• It is the robust infrastructure in Kerala, Delhi and Goa that has contributed to the overall improvementin HDI, whereas it is the poor condition of infrastructure in poorer States that has kept these States poor.

33 INCLUSIVE GROWTH

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• There has been “impressive growth” in teledensity overtime from 22 per cent in 2008 to 66 per cent in2010 on account of increase in urban tele-density. Besides, the report also highlights that 75 per cent ofpopulation have access to electricity.

• The report prepared by the Delhi-based Institute of Applied Manpower Research for the PlanningCommission focuses on income, education, health, literacy, nutrition and sanitation in the country.

2. Tendulkar Committee Report on Poverty Estimation

• The Planning Commission constituted an Expert Group in December 2005 under the chairmanship ofProfessor Suresh D. Tendulkar to review the methodology for estimation of poverty. The Expert Groupsubmitted its report in December 2009.

• While acknowledging the multidimensional nature of poverty, the Expert Group recommended movingaway from anchoring poverty lines to the calorie-intake norm to adopting MRP based estimates ofconsumption expenditure as the basis for future poverty lines and MRP equivalent of the urban povertyline basket (PLB) corresponding to 25.7 per cent urban headcount ratio as the new reference PLB for ruralareas.

• On the basis of the above methodology, the all-India rural poverty headcount ratio for 2004-05 wasestimated at 41.8 per cent, urban at 25.7 per cent, and all-India at 37.2 per cent. It may, however, bementioned that the Tendulkar Committee’s estimates are not strictly comparable to the official povertyestimates because of different methodologies.

• As has been indicated in the Mid Term Appraisal of the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the revised poverty linesfor 2004-05 as recommended by the Tendulkar Committee have been accepted by the Planning Commission.

• The Tendulkar Committee has specifically pointed out that the upward revision in the percentage of ruralpoverty in 2004-05, resulting from the application of a new rural poverty line should not be interpretedas implying that the extent of poverty has increased over time. These estimates, as reported by theCommittee, clearly show that whether we use the old method or the new, the percentage of BPL populationhas declined by about the same magnitude.

3. Saxena Committee Report on Conducting bPL Census in Rural Areas

• An Expert Group headed by Dr N.C. Saxena was constituted by the Ministry of Rural Development torecommend a suitable methodology for identification of BPL families in rural areas.

• The committee observed that the national poverty line at Rs. 356 per capita per month in rural areas andRs. 539 per capita per month in urban areas at 2004-05 prices permitted both rural and urban people toconsume about 1820 k calories as against the desired norm of 2400/2100 k calories. Hence a largenumber of the rural poor got left out of the BPL status benefits as in order to consume the desired normof 2400/ 2100 k calorie.

• Thus, the committee recommended that the cut-off line for determining BPL status should be around Rs.700 in rural areas and Rs. 1000 in urban areas.

• The committee recommended that the percentage of people entitled to BPL status should be revisedupwards to at least 50 percent though the calorie norm of 2400 would require it to be 80 percent.

• The committee also recommended doing away with score-based ranking of rural households followed forthe BPL census 2002 and has recommended automatic exclusion of some privileged sections and automaticinclusion of certain deprived and vulnerable sections of society, and a survey for the remaining populationto rank them on a scale of 10.

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• Automatic Exclusion: Households that fulfill any of the following conditions will not be surveyed forBPL census:

1. Families who own double the land of the district average of agricultural land per agricultural householdif partially or wholly irrigated (three times if completely un-irrigated).

2. Families that have three or four-wheeled motorized vehicles, such as, jeeps or SUVs.

3. Families that have at least one mechanized farm equipment, such as, tractors, power tillers, threshersor harvesters.

4. Families that have any person who is drawing a salary of over Rs. 10,000 per month in a non-government/ private organization or is employed in government on a regular basis with pensionaryor equivalent benefits.

5. Income tax payers.

• Automatic Inclusion: The following would be compulsorily included in the BPL list:

1. Designated primitive tribal groups.

2. Designated most discriminated against SC groups, called Maha Dalit groups.

3. Single women-headed households.

4. Households with a disabled person as breadwinner.

5. Households headed by a minor.

6. Destitute households which are dependent predominantly on alms for survival.

7. Homeless households.

8. Households that have a bonded labourer as member.

4. S.r. Hashim Committee for Identification of bPL Families in Urban Areas

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) is the nodal Ministry for issue ofguidelines to identify BPL families in urban areas. Till now, no uniform methodology was being followedby the States/UTs to identify the urban poor.

• An Expert Group under the Chairmanship of Professor S.R. Hashim has been constituted by the PlanningCommission in May 2010 to recommend the methodology for identification of BPL families in urbanareas in the context of the 12th Five Year Plan.

• The expert group submitted an interim report this month recommending that poverty in urban areas beidentified through specific vulnerabilities in residential, occupational and social categories. It said that:

1. Those people who are homeless, live in temporary houses where usage of dwelling space is susceptibleto insecurity of tenure and is affected by lack of access to basic services should be consideredresidentially vulnerable.

2. People unemployed for a significant proportion of time or with irregular employment or whose workis subject to unsanitary or hazardous conditions or has no stability of payment for services shouldbe regarded occupationally vulnerable.

3. Households headed by women or minors or where the elderly are dependent on the head of household

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or where the level of literacy is low or members are disabled or chronically ill should be consideredsocially vulnerable.

• The expert group is yet to finalise the detailed methodology for an ordinal ranking of the poor on the basisof vulnerability.

5. Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index

• The HDR 2010 and 2011 measured poverty in terms of a new parameter, namely multidimensionalpoverty index (MPI), which replaced the human poverty index (HPI) used since 1997.

• The MPI indicates the share of the population that is multi-dimensionally poor adjusted by the intensityof deprivation in terms of living standards, health, and education.

• According to this parameter, India with a poverty index of 0.292 and poverty ratios of 41.6 per cent (interms of PPP $ 1.25 a day) and 28.6 per cent (national poverty line) is not favourably placed whencompared with countries like China and Sri Lanka. In fact, the difference in population below the povertyline (BPL) widens substantially in case of India when this indicator is used instead of the national povertyline indicator, while for other countries, there is less of a difference and in some cases even a fall.

• According to HDR-2011 with an MPI of 0.283, 53.7% Indians have been placed in the bracket of multi-dimensionally poor (612 million), the largest concentration of such poor people in the world. Moreover,‘intensity of deprivation’ in India was 50 per cent in terms of ‘overall life satisfaction’ between 2006 and2010.

Programs

1) MGNREGA

a) Key Facts

i. It is the largest work guarantee programme in the world

ii. Launched in 2005

b) Basic Provisions

i. Guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. 

ii. Time bound guarantee of work and unemployment allowance: Employment must be provided with15 days of being demanded failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.

iii. Wage rate: Wages must be paid according to the wages specified for agricultural laborers in thestate under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, unless the central government notifies a wage rate.

iv. Decentralized planning: Gram Sabhas must recommend the works that are to be undertaken and atleast 50% of the works must be executed by them. PRIs are primarily responsible for planning,implementation and monitoring of the works that are undertaken.

v. Type of Work: The Act provides a list of works that can be undertaken to generate employmentrelated to water conservation, drought proofing, land development, and flood control and protectionworks.

vi. Transparency and Accountability: There are provisions for proactive disclosure through wall writings,citizen information boards and Social audits (to be conducted by gram sabhas to enable the communityto monitor the implementation of the scheme).

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c) Achievements:

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 has played a crucial role in sustainingthe rural economy as brought out by third party evaluation done by reputed universities.

a) This is the largest public employment programme in the World providing work to 5 Crore rural householdsor 10 Crore workers. One in every 3 rural households is a worker under the programme. It addressed 41%of the problem of underemployment in the rural areas.

b) Studies have shown that the income from these works has come when there is no other means oflivelihood; and is therefore has smoothened the rural consumption in the lean periods and drought periods.

c) Where implemented properly, it arrested distress migration1 and provided a safety net for the poor in thelean agricultural season.

d) Provided sustainable work to the rural women as evidenced by main workers (female) increasing from54.1% in 2001 to 55.6% in 2011. This has had positive impacts on the nutritional standards of the entirehousehold especially during lean seasons.

e) The programme has had large positive effects on consumption and poverty of SC/ST households in thelean agricultural seasons.

f) It also had provided risk-resilience to the small/marginal farmers in the face of drought. By allowing shifttowards high-risk high-profitability crops, the programme has considerably raised the incomes of smallholderfarmers in the medium term.

g) The programme has had a positive impact on financial inclusion by bringing 9.37 Cr rural households intothe financial inclusion network. The urban-rural divide in accessing institutional finance is getting reduced.

h) Several useful assets have been created by works taken up under the Act. This includes millions of acresof uncultivable lands brought under cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, afforestation programme in Bihar, wellstaken up in Madhya Pradesh/ Jharkhand, environmental stabilization works in the hilly areas like Sikkim,drought resistance programmes in Rajasthan.

According to Standing Committee report 2013

i. Ensuring livelihood for people in rural areas. Increasing the wage rate in rural areas,

ii. Creation of rural infra and thus facilitating sustainable development,

iii. Strengthening PRIs by involving them in the planning and monitoring of the scheme,

iv. Large scale participation of women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) and other traditionallymarginalized sections of society.  SCs/STs account for 51% of the total person-days generated and womenaccount for 47% of the total person-days generated.

v. Prevents distress migration; thus less strain on urban infra; less slums

Recent Developments

1. Improved quality of planning: An elaborate Participatory Planning Exercise (IPPE) was conducted in 2500backward blocks in July-Dec 2014. Under this, about 2.5 lakh specially trained stakeholder youth conductedresource mapping, social mapping, wealth ranking and transect walks and arrived at the assets that theyrequire in the village. These are being converted into the shelf of works for execution during 2015-16. Thiswould bring greater participation and scientific methods in planning of works, apart from focusing onconvergence with other programmes.

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2. Steps taken to improve quality of assets

a) A clear ‘Outcome orientation’ has been brought about execution of works. Orders have been issued on5th August 2014 making measurement of outcomes after execution of the work mandatory. Accordingly,outcomes of 17.36 lakh works completed have been measured. Where the outcomes achieved aresignificantly lower, rectification measures are being put in place.

b) Keeping in view the need to reorient the technical manpower a comprehensive training programme hasbeen launched which will be completed during 2015-16. An online learning programme is also beinglaunched so that technical personnel can learn at their convenience.

c) Schedule I to the MGNREG Act, 2005 has been modified on 21st July 2014 providing that at least 60%of the works being taken in a district in terms of cost shall be for creation of productive assets directlylinked to agriculture and allied activities through development of land, water and trees. This would helpbringing Rs. 14,580 Cr investment into agriculture and allied activities; and with a potential for anotherRs. 6,000 Cr investment before 31st March 2015. This has the potential to create irrigation sources,improve soil fertility, increase tree cover and enhance agricultural productivity.

d) In order to allow creation of durable assets, the 60:40 ratio of labour to material component will bemaintained at the district level (instead of Block level) for the works to be executed by implementingagencies other than Gram Panchayats. This would help in taking up permanent roads, agricultural storagespaces and useful buildings in the rural areas.

e) To facilitate States to engage technical assistants for better technical planning and supervision of worksunder MGNREGS, guidelines were issued on 21.8.2014 to allow their establishment cost as a part ofmaterial cost of works instead of administrative cost.

f) Guidelines have been issued for watershed management works taken up independently under MGNREGSor in convergence with IWMP. This will allow synergy between IWMP and MGNREGS so as to treatthe rain-fed agricultural areas, bringing in climate resilience. g) A massive Plan of action for road-side treeplantation has been launched to cover all PMGSY roads and other highways. Under this, useful trees areplanted and maintained by the poorest of poor MGNREGS beneficiaries who would also be assignedusufruct of these trees. More than 1 Crore trees have been planted under this programme in various Statesduring the current year.

g) Under Swachh Bharat Mission

Rural, guidelines have been issued increasing the cost per individual toilet to Rs. 12,000. An action plan isbeing finalised for construction of 2 Crore toilets on a saturation mode to convert villages into Open DefecationFree villages.

3. Steps taken to Curb corruption

a) Social audit ensures comprehensive public scrutiny of records and accounts with a view to enhancetransparency and accountability. Although it is a statutory requirement under the Act, the existing socialaudits were not done in the manner prescribed under the Rules notified in June, 2011. In order to supportthe States and to strengthen the social audit structures, the Ministry has sanctioned central assistance ofRs.147 crore. After due persuasion with the States, (16) States which account for more than 85% of thetotal expenditure:

i) (10) States have operationalised the Social Audit Units as laid down in the Rules. They are: AndhraPradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and UttarPradesh.

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ii) (4) States have constituted independent agencies but are yet to appoint full time personnel for conductof Social Audits: Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur and Meghalaya.

iii) (2) States have appointed Director of Social Audit, but did not constitute independent Societies: Rajasthanand Jammu & Kashmir.

iv) (11) States are yet to comply with the Rules: West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh,Assam, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Further, a cell has been establishedat NIRD-PR to guide the States in correct conduct of the Social Audits.

b) Ombudsmen have been established in all Districts empowered to entertain complaints and deliver Awardsafter examining records.

4. Convergence

All States have been encouraged to converge the other development schemes with MGNREGA. This willallow increasing the technical input into the Scheme and would also allow better and more durable assets. Thisconvergence is proposed to be worked with departments of agriculture, horticulture, irrigation, sericulture,Panchayat Raj, Environment and Forests etc.

NREGS Vision Plan Under NDA for 2015-16

a. Protecting Entitlements of Workers

The systems for collection of demand and opening of works would be strengthened. This involves a regular

conduct of the Rozgar Diwas in all wards in every Gram Panchayat at least once a month. This would also

work as a grievance redressal forum for on-the-spot redressal of grievances of workers.

b. Avoiding Delays in Payment

To ensure that payment is made on time, an IT-based SMS alert system is being institutionalised. This will

allow constant monitoring of each muster till the payment is actually made. Besides, the fund flow system

is being made more efficient by linking with the Plan Fund Management System (PFMS). These measures

have already started showing results, and the percentage of timely payment jumped from 28% in 2014-15 to

70% in 2015-16. MGNREGS has been notified under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme of Government

of India for quicker and more transparent disbursement of wages. Under this, Aadhaar numbers of 3.9 Crore

workers (out of 8.8 Cr active workers) have so far been captured and the process is going on for converting

these accounts into Aadhaar based system. This would reduce the delays in disbursement of wages, apart from

eliminating the bogus cases from the list.

c. Conduct of Social Audit as per the Rules

All the (16) States which are ready to conduct Social Audits as laid down in the Rules would take up Social

Audits covering all their Gram Panchayats at least once each year. These Audits will be supported by the

NIRD-PR by provision of technical support. Efforts would be made for ensuring that other States come to

comply with the statutory provisions of Social Audit.

d. Mobile Based Monitoring on Pilot Basis Under MGNREGA

Mobile Monitoring system (MMS) is being rolled out in 35,000 GPs as a pilot to allow real time monitoring

of all works, worker attendance and works site measurement. After evaluating the success of this, it is

proposed to roll this out to all the GPs.

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e. To Expand to eFMS and Align with eFMS

More than 94% of the GPs have already been brought under the electronic fund Management System (eFMS)that allows direct electronic credit of wages into the accounts of the workers. The balance Gram Panchayats,which do not have connectivity, are being provided connectivity through the Block offices using the VSATsystem. This would allow instant transfer of wages into the worker accounts, apart from achieving transparencyin fund flow and optimisation of fund utilisation.

f. Skilling MGNREGA Workers

With a view to strengthen the livelihoods of the poorest households dependent on MGNREGA works forsustenance, it is proposed that workers from such households may be skilled in convergence with the NRLMand DDU-SKY programmes of the Ministry, so that they can have employment opportunities through the year.The project Livelihoods in Full Employment (LIFE) has identified 14 lakh households which have completed100 days work in 2014-15 and having workers under 35 years of age. This skilling of these workers would bedone in the following manner:

a. Imparting skills required for migrating to urban areas using the apprenticeship or the DDU-SKY skilltraining; and later placing them in jobs in urban areas.

b. Grouping workers into labour cooperatives, training and equipping them so that they seek contract workwith construction/road laying firms

c. Organising workers into groups, skilling and equipping them with essential machinery to take up agriculturaloperations efficiently and at competitive market rates. This will not only help giving sustainable incomesto the workers but would resolve the problem of labour shortage in agriculture.

2) National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)

a) Facts

i. When launched:

i. 2011

ii. It was formed by restructuring SGSY (Swarnajayanti gram swarozgar yojana) which was launched in1999.

ii. Ajivika : It has been renamed as AJIVIKA

iii. Ministry in–charge : Ministry of rural development

iv. Target group :

BPL group (and in that preference is given to sc’s, st’s, minorities,disabled)

b) Detail

i. Main aim/target: To take out 7 crore rural poor hoseholds (35 crore population) out of poverty byproviding them with employment.

ii. The core values which guide all the activities under NRLM are as follows:

• Inclusion of the Poorest

• Transparency

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• Accountability

• Equity - to the disadvantaged, esp. women and vulnerable groups

• Partnerships; and

• Ownership and key role of the poor in all stages - planning, implementation and monitoring

iii. Key Features of NRLM

o Sensitive Support Structure of National Rural Livelihood Mission:

o Universal Social Mobilization

o Promotion of Institutions of the Poor

o Demand Driven

o Training and Capacity building

o Revolving Fund and Capital Subsidy

o Universal Financial Inclusion

o Provision of Interest Subsidy

o Infrastructure Creation and Marketing support

o Skills and Placement Projects

o Linkages with PRIs

c. Type : It is for both types of employment

i. Self employment :

1. In this SHG’s will be formed (aim is to include 1 women member from each identified ruralpoor household to be brought under the SHG network).

2. And these SHG’s formed will be given training to ensure skill development to start aelfemployment to start their entrepreneurial ventures.

3. And they will also be provided with monetary assistance i.e. these SHG’s will be linked tobanks so as to avail credit and this will ensure financial inclusion.

ii. Wage employment :

1. Also the government will use 15% of the scheme’s allocation to train rural youth and get them jobs incollaboration with private companies in sectors like textiles, computer and hardware services, hospitalityand infrastructure.

d. MKSP : Mahila kisaan shasaktikaran pariyojana

a. It was launched in 2011.

b. It was started as a sub component of the NRLM (national rural livelihood mission).

c. It was launched to meet the specific needs of of women farmers, predominantly small and marginalformers.

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Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)

• The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) was launched on 25 September, 2001 by merging theon-going schemes of EAS and the JGSY with the objective of providing additional wage employment andfood security, alongside creation of durable community assets in rural areas.

• The programme is self-targeting in nature with provisions for special emphasis on women, scheduledcastes, scheduled tribes and parents of children withdrawn from hazardous occupations.

• While preference is given to BPL families for providing wage employment under SGRY, poor familiesabove the poverty line can also be offered employment wherever NREGA has been launched.

• The annual outlay for the programme is Rs. 10,000 crore which includes 50 lakh tonnes on food grains.

• The cash component is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25.

• Food grains are provided free of cost to the States/UTs. The payment of food grains is made directly to

FCI at economic cost by the Centre. However, State Governments are responsible for the cost oftransportation of food grains from FCI godown to work-site/PDS shops and its distribution. Minimumwages are paid to the workers through a mix of minimum five kg of food grains and at least 25 per centof wages in cash.

• The programme is implemented by all the three tiers of Panchayat Raj Institutions. Each level of Panchayat

is an independent unit for formulation of Action Plan and executing the scheme. Resources are distributedamong District Panchayat, Intermediate Panchayats and the Gram Panchayats in the ratio of 20:30:50.

• The Gram Panchayats can take up any work with the approval of the gram sabha as per their felt needand within available funds. Fifty per cent of the funds earmarked for the gram panchayats are to be utilisedfor infrastructure development works in SC/ ST localities. 22.5 per cent resources must be spent on

individual beneficiary schemes meant for SCs/STs out of the resource share of District Panchayat andIntermediate Panchayats.

• Contractors are not permitted to be engaged for execution of any of the works and no middlemen/

intermediate agencies can be engaged for executing works under the scheme.

PMEGP – PM Employment Guarantee Program

• When launched :

• 2008

• Under which Ministry :

• Ministry of MSME’s.

• KVIC (an organization under MSME ministry) will implement it.

• Type :

• Self employment only (not wage employment)

• Which Areas

• It is for both urban and rural areas.

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• Details

• It is a credit linked subsidy program (i.e. gives credit (loan) at subsidy)

• It’s aim is to generate employment opportunities through establishment of micro–enterprises in urbanand rural areas. (again saying that it says establishment of micro–enterprises).

Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission

1. Finance minister of NDA government in budget 2014-15 announced that it will be launched for Urbanizationof rural areas. i.e. people living in the rural areas will get efficient civic infrastructure and associateservices.

2. To be specific it will include

a. Delivering integrated project based infrastructure in the rural areas +

b. Development of economic activities and skill development.

3. The preferred mode of delivery would be through PPPs

4. Acc. to fin min Gujarat has demonstrated successfully the Rurban development model.

SAGY – (Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana)

1. This scheme was launched in Oct 2014 by rural development ministry

2. What to be done in it :

a. Each MP will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in threevillages by 2019.

b. Thereafter, 5 such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.

3. Ultimate aim :

a. Holistic development of village across multiple areas such as agriculture, health, education, sanitation,environment, livelihoods etc (i.e. developing infra, provding basic amenities)

b. Nurturing values of national pride, patriotism, community spirit, self-confidence, self – reliance,gender equality, local self-government, transparency and accountability in public life, etc

4. Village development plan :

a. The scheme will be implemented through a village development plan that would be prepared forevery identified gram panchayat

b. The planning process in each village will be a participatory exercise coordinated by the DistrictCollector and the MP will play an active facilitating role in this exercise.

5. MPLADS :

a. The constituency fund, MPLADS, would be available to fill critical financing gaps.

6. How to do this :

a. By bringing convergence in the implementation of existing Government schemes and programswithout allocating additional funds or starting new infrastructure or construction schemes.

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Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI)

• Government and Non government agencies have taken certain initiatives and implementing many schemesto promote micro enterprises. However, the efforts seem to be inadequate against the gigantic unemploymentproblem. An innovative initiative was taken way back in the year 1982 jointly by Sri DharmasthalaManjunatheshwara Educational Trust, Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank to motivate unemployed youth totake up self-employment as an alternative career.

• The unique experiment of building confidence of the youth by developing skill and positive attitudeamong them through dedicated training was found effective. The model has proved very successful inbuilding the morale of the youth and empowering them to set up self-employment ventures in their ownplaces. The project reported a success rate of 66 per cent.

• RUDSETI model was appreciated by Government of India, State Governments, SIDBI, and NABARD.Replication of this model was recommended to tackle the unemployment problem successfully anddeveloping entrepreneurship.

Significant points about RSETIs:

• Rural BPL youth will be identified and trained for self-employment.

• The trainings offered will be demand driven.

• Area in which training will be provided to the trainee will be decided after assessment the candidate’saptitude.

• Hand holding support will be provided for assured credit linkage with banks.

• Escort services will be provided for at least for two years soas to ensure sustainability of micro enterprisetrainees.

• The trainees will be provided intensive short-term residential self-employment training programmes withfree food and accommodation.

• It will be set up in each district of the country for basic and skill development training of rural BPL youthto enable them to undertake micro-enterprises and wage employment.

• The Government has approved 215 RSETIs out of which funds have been released to 149. During 2009-10, approximately 77,000 rural youth (including 54,000 BPL youth) were trained in 99 RSETIs functioningin the country.

Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

• The JNNURM, a seven year programme launched in December 2005, provides financial assistance tocities for infrastructure, housing development, and capacity development.

• Mission Statement: The aim is to encourage reforms and fast track planned development of identifiedcities. Focus is to be on efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms, communityparticipation, and accountability of ULBs/ Parastatal agencies towards citizens.

• Objectives of the Mission

1. The objectives of the JNNURM are to ensure that the following are achieved in the urban sector;

2. Focused attention to integrated development of infrastructure services in cities covered under theMission;

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3. Establishment of linkages between assetcreation and asset-management through a slew of reformsfor long-term project sustainability;

4. Ensuring adequate funds to meet the deficiencies in urban infrastructural services;

5. Planned development of identified cities including peri-urban areas, outgrowths and urban corridorsleading to dispersed urbanisation;

6. Scale-up delivery of civic amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis on universal access tothe urban poor;

7. Special focus on urban renewal programme for the old city areas to reduce congestion; and

8. Provision of basic services to the urban poor including security of tenure at affordable prices,improved housing, water supply and sanitation, and ensuring delivery of other existing universalservices of the government for education, health and social security.

• The Mission shall Comprise two Sub-Missions, namely:

1. Sub-Mission for Urban Infrastructure and Governance: This will be administered by the Ministryof Urban Development through the Sub- Mission Directorate for Urban Infrastructure and Governance.The main thrust of the Sub-Mission will be on infrastructure projects relating to water supply andsanitation, sewerage, solid waste management, road network, urban transport and redevelopment ofold city areas with a view to upgrading infrastructure therein, shifting industrial and commercialestablishments to conforming areas, etc.

2. Sub-Mission for Basic Services to the Urban Poor: This will be administered by the Ministry ofUrban Employment and Poverty Alleviation through the Sub-Mission Directorate for Basic Servicesto the Urban Poor. The main thrust of the Sub- Mission will be on integrated development of slumsthrough projects for providing shelter, basic services and other related civic amenities with a view toproviding utilities to the urban poor.

In addition to this, it also has two further components:

1. The Sub-Mission for Urban Infrastructure Development of Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT)administered by the Ministry of Urban Development, with a focus on subsuming the schemes of IntegratedDevelopment of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) and Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme(AUWSP) which are already in existence and which aim at planned urban infrastructural improvement intowns and cities under its purview.

2. The Sub-Mission for Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) administered byMinistry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA) was envisaged and brought into effect in1993-94 in accordance with providing the entire population with safe and adequate water supply facilities.Program mainly implemented in owns having population less than 20,000 as per 1991 Census.

• The objectives of the Mission shall be met through the adoption of the following strategy:

1. Preparing City Development Plan: Every city will be expected to formulate a City Development Plan(CDP) indicating policies, programmes and strategies, and financing plans.

2. Preparing Projects: The CDP would facilitate identification of projects. The Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ parastatal agencies will be required to prepare Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for undertaking projectsin the identified spheres. It is essential that projects are planned in a manner that optimises the life-cyclecost of projects. The life-cycle cost of a project would cover the capital outlays and the attendant O&Mcosts to ensure that assets are in good working condition. A revolving fund would be created to meet the

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O&M requirements of assets created, over the planning horizon. In order to seek JNNURM assistance,projects would need to be developed in a manner that would ensure and demonstrate optimisation of thelife-cycle costs over the planning horizon of the project.

3. Release and Leveraging of Funds: It is expected that the JNNURM assistance would serve to catalysethe flow of investment into the urban infrastructure sector across the country. Funds from the Central andState Government will flow directly to the nodal agency designated by the State, as grants-in-aid. Thefunds for identified projects across cities would be disbursed to the ULB/Parastatal agency through thedesignated State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) as soft loan or grant-cum-loan or grant. The SLNA / ULBsin turn would leverage additional resources from other sources.

4. Incorporating Private Sector Efficiencies: In order to optimise the life-cycle costs over the planninghorizon, private sector efficiencies can be inducted in development, management, implementation andfinancing of projects, through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.

• The duration of the Mission was initially set to be between seven years beginning from the year 2005-06. Evaluation of the experience of implementation of the Mission would be undertaken before thecommencement of Eleventh Five Year Plan and if necessary, the program calibrated suitably.

Expected Outcomes of the JNNURM

1. Modern and transparent budgeting, accounting, financial management systems, designed and adoptedfor all urban service and governance functions

2. City-wide framework for planning and governance will be established and become operational

3. All urban residents will be able to obtain access to a basic level of urban services

4. Financially self-sustaining agencies for urban governance and service delivery will be established,through reforms to major revenue instruments

5. Local services and governance will be conducted in a manner that is transparent and accountable tocitizens

6. E-governance applications will be introduced in core functions of ULBs/ Parastatal resulting inreduced cost and time of service delivery processes.

Affordable Housing In Partnership (AHIP)

• The Scheme of Affordable Housing in Partnership aims at operationalising the strategy envisaged in theNational Urban Housing & Habitat Policy (NUHHP) 2007, of promoting various types of public-privatepartnerships - of the government sector with the private sector, the cooperative sector, the financialservices sector, the state parastatals, urban local bodies, etc. – for realizing the goal of affordable housingfor all. It intends to provide major stimulus to economic activities through affordable housing for thecreation of employment, especially for the construction workers and other urban poor who are likely tobe amongst the most vulnerable groups in recession.

• It also targets the creation of demand for a large variety of industrial goods through the multiplier effectof housing on other economic activities.

• This Scheme is a part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and takesinto account the experience of implementing Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and IntegratedHousing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) for three years, and the assessment that shortfall inresponse from BSUP towns is a factor of the lack of urban land availability for expansion of cities, and

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after consultation with States/UTs who have agreed that the responsibility of making urban land availableat affordable rates must rest with them in order to reduce the acute shortages of housing in urban areas.

• The basic aim of the Scheme is to provide stimulus to economic activities through affordable housingprogrammes in partnership. Its immediate objective is employment generation to the urban poor, especiallyconstruction workers, where adverse impact of current economic downturn is being experienced.

• The scheme will apply mainly to the 65 BSUP cities, where shortages of land for housing are drivingunplanned growth and rising home prices and rentals to unsustainable levels.

Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)

• With an aim of creating a slum-free India, government has launched phase-1 of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)to facilitate affordable housing for slum dwellers.

• The Centre would provide financial assistance to States willing to assign property rights to slum dwellersfor provision of shelter and basic civic and social services for slum re-development and for creation ofaffordable housing stock under the RAY scheme.

• The scheme will cover about 250 cities, mostly with population of more than one lakh across the countryby the end of 12th Plan (2017). The scheme will progress at the pace set by the States.

• The Centre will bear 50 per cent of the cost of slum re-development. To encourage creation of affordablehousing stock, the existing schemes of Affordable Housing in Partnership and Interest Subsidy Schemefor Housing the Urban Poor have been dovetailed into RAY.

• In order to encourage private sector participation in slum re-development, Central assistance can be usedby the States and cities towards viability gap funding.

• Credit enablement of the urban poor and the flow of institutional finance for affordable housing is animportant component of the scheme. The government has agreed to establish a mortgage risk guaranteefund to facilitate lending the urban poor for housing purposes with an initial corpus of Rs. 1000 crore.

• The scheme has been designed on the basis of experience of the Jawaharlal National Urban RenewalMission (JNNURM) submission of Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and the Integrated Housingand Urban Development Programme (HSDP).

• Under these schemes, government had sought to take action for inclusive urban growth by enabling re-development of slums with basic amenities and decent housing with security of tenure.

Bharat Nirman

• Bharat Nirman, a programme to build rural infrastructure, was launched by the Government of India in2005 to be implemented in a period of four years from 2005-06 to 2008-09. It is an important initiativefor reducing the gap between rural and urban areas and improving the quality of life of people in ruralareas.

• Phase I of the programme was implemented in the period 2005-06 to 2008-09. Phase II is being implementedfrom 2009-10 to 2011-12.

• This programme has six components, namely rural housing, irrigation potential, drinking water, rural roads,electrification, and rural telephony. The targets for these components are as follows:

1. Water Supply: Cover approximately 55 thousand uncovered habitations and provide safe drinking waterto approximately 2.16 lakh villages affected by poor water quality.

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2. Housing: Provide additional 1.2 crore houses at the rate of 24 lakh houses each year to be built by fundsallocated to the homeless through Panchayats.

3. Telecommunication and Information Technology: Increase rural tele-density to 40% and provide broadbandconnectivity and Bharat Nirman Seva Kendras to all 2.5 lakh Panchayats. Under the Bharat NirmanProgramme, Rural teledensity of at least 40% by 2014, and Broadband coverage of all 2,50,000 villagepanchayats & Setting up of Bharat Nirman Common Service Centers at Panchayat level by 2012 is tobe achieved.

4. Roads: Provide road connections to remaining 23,000 villages approximately with population of 1000 or500 in case of hilly or tribal areas.

5. Electrification: Provide electricity to remaining 40,000 villages approximately and connections to about1.75 crore poor households. The revised Bharat Nirman target for RGGVY is to electrify 1 lakh villagesand to provide free electricity connections to 175 lakh BPL households by March 2012. The BharatNirman targets for RGGVY have been achieved by 31st December, 2011 well before March, 2012.

6. Irrigation: 6.5 million hectares brought under assured irrigation till 2009. Remaining 3.5 million hectaresto be completed by 2012.

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Developmental Groups

a) SHG’s

1. NABARD’S ‘SHG Bank Linkage’ program

a. Launched in 1992;

b. Under this programs SHGs which are registered with NABARD, opens the account in bank andborrow from it once they have accumulated a base of their own capital + other conditions satisfied.

c. This Program boasts of over 26 lakh SHGs and 3.9 crore households influencing the lives of over16 crore poor population.

b) BRLF – Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation

1. In Sept 2013, Union Cabinet approved the proposal for setting up of the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation(BRLF)

2. It is as an independent charitable society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860

3. Aim

a. to facilitate and upscale civil society action in partnership with Government for transforming livelihoodsand lives of rural households, with an emphasis on women

b. It will provide financial grants to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to meet their human resourceand institutional costs for upscaling of proven interventions;

c. invest in institutional strengthening of smaller CSOs and

d. Capacity building of professional resources working at the grassroots.

4. Area Even though BRLF will have an India wide mandate, the initial focus of the organization will be onthe Central Indian Tribal Region, centered on blocks having significant tribal population

5. The society will be constituted as a partnership between Government on the one hand and private sectorphilanthropies, private and public sector undertakings (under Corporate Social Responsibility) on the otherhand.

6. Rs 500 crore will be released for creating the corpus fund of the new Society, in two tranches.

1. Indira Awas Yojna

• Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) was launched during 1985-86 as a sub-scheme of Rural Land and less EmploymentGuarantee Programme (RLEGP) and continued as a sub-scheme of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) sinceits launching from April, 1989. It has been delinked from the JRY and has been made an independentscheme with effect from January 1, 1996.

33 RURAL DEVELOPMENT

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• The objective of IAY is primarily to provide grant for construction of houses to members of ScheduledCastes/Scheduled Tribes, freed bonded labourers and also to non- SC/ST rural poor below the povertyline.

• The target group for houses under IAY will be people below poverty line living in rural areas belongingto Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, freed bonded labourers and non-SC/ST subject to the conditionthat the benefits to non-SC/ST should not exceed 40% of total IAY allocation during a financial year.

• From 1995-96, the IAY benefits have been extended to ex-servicemen, widows or next of kin of defencepersonnel and paramilitary forces killed in action irrespective of the income criteria subject to the conditionthat (i) they reside in rural areas; (ii) they have not been covered under any other scheme of shelterrehabilitation; and (iii) they are houseless or in need of shelter or shelter upgradation. Priority will be givento other ex-servicemen and retired members of the paramilitary forces as long as they fulfill the normaleligibility conditions of the Indira Awas Yojana and have not been covered under any other shelterrehabilitation scheme.

• The priority in the matter of allotment of houses to the ex-servicemen and paramilitary forces and theirdependents will be out of 40% of the houses set apart for allotment am ong the non-SC/ST categoriesof beneficiaries.

• 3% of the funds have been earmarked for the benefit of disabled persons below poverty line. Thisreservation of 3% under IAY for disabled persons below the poverty line would be horizontal reservationi.e., disabled persons belonging to sections like SCs, STs and Others would fall in their respective categories.

• District Rural Development Agencies (DRDA) / Zilla Parishads will decide the number of houses to beconstructed panchayat-wise under IAY during a particular financial year. The same shall be intimated tothe Gram Panchayat. Thereafter, the Gram Sabha will select the beneficiaries from the list of eligiblehouseholds as per the IAY guidelines and as per priorities fixed, restricting this number to the targetallotted. No approval of the Panchayat Samiti is required. The Panchayat Samiti should however, be senta list of selected beneficiaries for their information.

• The order of priority for selection of beneficiaries amongst target group below poverty line is as follows:

1. Freed bonded labourers

2. SC/ST households who are victims of atrocities

3. SC/ST households, headed by widows and unmarried women.

4. SC/ST households affected by flood, fire, earthquake, cyclone and similar natural calamities.

5. Other SC/ST households.

6. Non- SC/ST households.

7. Physically handicapped.

8. Families/widows of personnel of defence services / paramilitary forces, killed in action.

9. Displaced persons on account of developmental projects, nomadic, semi-nomadic and de-notifiedtribals, families with disabled members and internal refugees, subject to the households being belowpoverty line.

• Allotment of houses should be in the name of female member of the beneficiary household. Alternatively,it can be allotted in the name of both husband and wife.

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2. National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

• Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in caseof unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within thelimits of its economic capacity and development. In accordance with the Directive Principles of StatePolicy, Govt. of India launched NSAP as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme w.e.f 15th August 1995 towardsfulfillment of these principles.

• The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) then comprised of National Old Age Pension Scheme(NOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS).

• These programmes were meant for providing social assistance benefit to the aged, the BPL householdsin the case of death of the primary breadwinner and for maternity. These programmes were aimed toensure minimum national standards in addition to the benefits that the States were then providing orwould provide in future.

• National Old Age Pension Scheme

1. The age of the applicant (male or female) shall be 65 years or higher.

2. The amount of the old age pension will be Rs. 75/- per month for purpose of claiming Centralassistance.

3. The applicant must be a destitute in the sense of having little or no regular means of subsistencefrom his/her own sources of income or through financial support from family members or othersources. In order to determine destitution, the criteria, if any currently in force in the state/ UT govt.may also be followed. The Govt. of India reserves the right to review these criteria and suggestappropriate revised criteria.

4. The ceiling on the total number of old age pension for purpose of claiming Central assistance isspecified by Govt. of India.

5. Village, Panchayat and relevant authorities shall report for every case of death of pensionersimmediately after its occurrence to the appropriate sanctioning authority.

• National Family Benefit Scheme

1. The primary breadwinner will be the member of household male or female whose earning contributethe largest proportion to the total household income.

2. The death of such a primary breadwinner should have occurred whilst he or she is in the age groupof 18 to 64 years i.e., more than 18 years of age and less than 65 years of age.

3. The bereaved household qualifies as one under the poverty line according to the criterion prescribedby the Govt. of India.

4. Rs. 5,000/- in the case of death due to natural causes and Rs. 10,000/- in the case of death dueto accident causes will be the ceilings for purposes of claiming Central assistance. In 1998, theamount of benefit under NFBS was raised to Rs 10,000 in case of death due to natural causes aswell as accidental causes.

5. The family benefit will be paid to such surviving member of the household of deceased who, afterdue local enquiry is determined to be the head of the household. For the purpose of the scheme,the term “household” would include spouse, minor children, unmarried daughters and dependentparents.

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• National Maternity Benefit Scheme

1. The maternity benefit will be restricted to pregnant women for up to the first two live births providedthey are of 19 years of age and above. As proof of the age of the applicant, Birth Certificate issued byMunicipality/Sub-Divisional Office or an affidavit shown before a First Class Magistrate by the applicant ora certificate from the Head of the Institution where the applicant studied has to be given.

2. The beneficiary should belong to a household below the poverty line according to the criteria prescribedby the Government of India.

3. The ceiling on the amount of the benefit for purposes of claiming Central assistance will be Rs. 500/

-.

4. The benefit is disbursed several weeks prior to the delivery. In case of delay, the benefit may be giveneven after the birth of the child.

5. The Scheme was transferred from the Ministry of Rural Development to Department of FamilyWelfare w.e.f. 1st April, 2001. It became part and parcel of the Population Stabilization Programme.

• Annapurna Scheme

1. On 1st April, 2000 a new Scheme known as Annapurna Scheme was launched. This Scheme aimedat providing food security to meet the requirement of those senior citizens who, though eligible, haveremained uncovered under the NOAPS.

2. From 2002-03, it has been transferred to State Plan along with the National Social Assistance

Programme. The implementation of the Scheme at the State level rests with the respective States/UTs.

3. Under the Annapurna Scheme, 10 kg of food grains per month are provided free of cost to thebeneficiary.

4. The number of persons to be benefited from the Scheme is, in the first instance, 20% of the persons

eligible to receive pension under NOAPS in States/UTs.

• Introduction of two new Pension Schemes in 2009

1. Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS): In February 2009, GOI has approved pensionto BPL widows in the age group of 40-64 years.

i) The applicant should belong to a household below the Poverty Line as per criteria prescribed by the

Government of India.

ii) The pension amount is Rs. 200 per month per beneficiary and the concerned state government is alsourged to provide the equal amount to the person.

iii) The pension is to be credited into a post office or public sector bank account of the beneficiary.

iv) The pension will be discontinued if there is the case of remarriage or once the widow moves abovethe poverty line.

2. Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS): In February 2009, GOI has also approvedpension under Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) for BPL persons with severeor multiple disabilities between the age group of 18-64 years @ Rs. 200 p.m. per beneficiary.

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3. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25th December 2000 as a fully fundedCentrally Sponsored Scheme to provide all-weather road connectivity in rural areas of the country. Theprogramme envisages connecting all habitations with a population of 500 persons and above in the plainareas and 250 persons and above in hill States, the tribal and the desert areas.

• 50% of the cess on High Speed Diesel (HSD) is earmarked for this Programme.

• The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity, by way of an all weather road (withnecessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout the year), to the eligibleunconnected habitations in the rural areas, in such a way that all unconnected habitations with a populationof 1000 persons and above are covered in three years (2000-2003) and all unconnected habitations witha population of 500 persons by the year 2007 (end of Tenth Plan Period).

• The primary focus of the programme will be on construction of new roads. However, upgradation (toprescribed standards) of existing roads will be permitted to be taken up under the programme so as toachieve connectivity through good all-weather roads.

• The Programme shall cover only ‘Other District Roads’ (ODRs) and ‘Village Roads’ (VRs).

4. CAPART

• The Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) is an autonomousorganisation under the Ministry of Rural Development. It was set up in September 1986 by theamalgamation of the People’s Action for Development India (PADI) and Council for Advancement ofRural Technology (CART).

• The objects for which the Society is set up are:

1. to encourage, promote and assist voluntary action in the implementation of projects for theenhancement of rural prosperity;

2. to strength and promote voluntary efforts in rural development with focus on injecting new technologicalinputs in this behalf;

3. to act as the national nodal point for coordination of all efforts at generation and dissemination oftechnologies relevant to rural development in its wider sense;

4. to act as a catalyst for development of technology appropriate for the rural areas, by identifying andfunding research and development efforts and pilot projects by different agencies and institutionsparticularly voluntary organizations;

5. to act as a conduit for transfer of appropriate technology to Government Departments, public sectorundertaking, cooperative societies, voluntary agencies and members of public to encourage adoptionof modern techniques and appropriate technology in rural development;

6. to assist and promote programmes aimed at conservation of the environment and natural resources;

5. Swajaldhara

• A new initiative “Swajaldhara” was launched on December, 2002, to open up the reform initiatives in thesafe rural drinking water supply throughout the country. This programme aims at providing Community-based Rural Drinking Water Supply.

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• The key elements of this programme are:

1. Demand-driven and community participation approach,

2. Panchayats/communities to plan, implement, operate, maintain and manage all drinking water schemes,

3. Partial capital cost sharing by the communities upfront in cash,

4. Full ownership of drinking water assets with Gram Panchayats and

5. Full Operation and Maintenance by the users/Panchayats.

• The role of PRIs in implementation of this scheme are:

1. Gram Panchayat shall convene a Gram Sabha Meeting where the Drinking Water Supply Scheme ofPeople’s choice including design and cost etc. must be finalized. Gram Panchayats are to undertakeprocurement of materials/services for execution of schemes and supervise the scheme execution.

2. Gram Panchayat will decide whether the Panchayat wants to execute the Scheme on its own or wantsthe State Government Agency to undertake the execution.

3. After completion of such schemes, the Gram Panchayat will take over the Schemes for Operation& Maintenance (O&M).

4. Panchayat must decide on the user charges from the community so that adequate funds are availablewith Panchayat to undertake O&M.

6. Nirmal Gram Puraskar

• To give a fillip to the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), Government of India launched the Nirmal GramPuraskar (NGP) in October 2003 and gave away the first awards in 2005.

• NGP seeks to recognise the efforts made by PRIs and institutions who have contributed significantlytowards ensuring full sanitation coverage in their areas of operation. TSC lays strong emphasis onInformation, Education and Communication (IEC), capacity building and hygiene education for effectivebehaviour change with the involvement of PRIs, CBOs, NGOs, etc. NGP is aimed at augmenting theefforts made under this IEC campaign.

• The main objectives of Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) are:

1. To bring the topic of sanitation to the forefront of social and political development discourse in ruralIndia.

2. To develop open defecation-free and clean villages which will act as models for others to emulate.

3. To give incentive to PRIs to sustain the initiatives taken by them to eliminate the practice of opendefecation from their respective geographical area by way of full sanitation coverage.

4. To increase social mobilization in TSC implementation, by recognizing the catalytic role played byorganizations in attaining universal sanitation coverage

• A “Nirmal Gram” is an “Open Defecation Free” village where all houses, Schools and Anganwadis havingsanitary toilets and awareness amongst community on the importance of maintaining personal andcommunity hygiene and clean environment. The award is given to those PRIs which attain 100% opendefecation free environment.

• The concept of Nirmal Gram Puraskar has been acclaimed internationally as a unique tool of socialengineering and community mobilization and has helped a difficult programme like rural sanitation to pick

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up. Each Gram Panchayat getting the NGP has a ripple effect in the surrounding villages. It has been theprime mover behind the amazing progress achieved in rural sanitation coverage since 2005.

• Sikkim has become first Nirmal State of the country.