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MAINS : Sample Notes For General Studies

POVERTY

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES

Focus was on entitlement rather than capacity building which was considered as the core to long term solution to poverty. The failure of these programmes to achieve the desired success was primarily due to the following reasons:-

Multiplicity of programmes, agencies and frequent changes created problems of overlapping and coordination, thereby diluting the unity of purpose itself.
Ill-defined and multiple objectives.
Insufficient assistance to start any meaningful self-employment generating activity.
Very high administrative cost: As per a study of PDS, 85% of the resources allocated for these programmes are spent on their administration only.
Administrative leakages, lack of accountability and bureaucratic apathy: Only 25% of foodgrains under PDS reaches the poorest of the poor.
Lack of monitoring, feedback and appraisal mechanism, therefore hindering timely correction of anti-poverty programmes.
Local resources, both human and natural, not properly utilized.
Lack of peoples' participation affected the articulation of felt needs of people and its sustainability.
Social Security aspect neglected with financial support being too small to materially change their condition.
Proper technological support system not available at local implementation level.

Poverty alleviation programmes have lagged on integrated and holistic approach which should have included aspects like population stabilization, human resources development and poverty alleviation.

SUGGESTIONS/CONSTRUCTING AN EFFECTIVE POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMME:

Any strategy of poverty alleviation must concentrate on the 3-cores of Education, Employment and Health promotion interlinked to each other and pursued simultaneously. UN High Level Panel on threats, challenges and change" identified extreme poverty and infectious diseases as threats in themselves and also make emergence of other threats including civil wars and environment degradation.

Decentralization of development efforts viz. mobilization of resources, targeting beneficiaries and monitoring by involving PRIs.
Identifying the Growth Centres to act as Generators of Economic momentum using local labour and raw materials. Core recipe for ending poverty is massive capital infusion.
Encourage production of items of mass consumption especially wage goods in small and cotton industries.
Above all Good Governance is the most important key to development as recognized by X Plan.
ALSO See X Plan and Critical analysis for developing a poverty alleviation programme.

CONCLUSION

Rural India is in a deep and continuing stress. The growth which is not inclusive is not sustainable. Need is for constructing an integrated policy of poverty alleviation with focus on the basic tenets of human resource development. Such an approach alongwith an efficient administration can go a long way in poverty alleviation.

A LOOK AT THE POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMME	REMARKS
Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)	• Started in 1999 with 75:25 Centre: State contribution • Cover all the aspects of self employment such as organization of poor into Self Help Groups, training, credit, technology, infrastructure and marketing. • Objective is to bring every assisted family above the poverty line in three years by providing them income generating assets through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy. • Replaced IRDP and its allied schemes viz. TRYSEM, DWCRA, SITRA, GKY and MWS. • Aims at establishing a large number of micro enterprises in the rural areas. • SCs/STs would account for at least 50 per cent of the Swarozgaris, women for 40 per cent and the disabled for three per cent. • Launched by Ministry of Rural Development • Implemented by DRDAs through Panchayat Samities.
Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana	• Started in 1997 with 75:25 centre:state contribution. • In all urban and semi-urban towns. • Two sub-schemes where bank credit is involved, namely, Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP) and Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA). • Beneficiaries identified by the urban local bodies on the basis of house-to-house survey. • Under the scheme, women are to be assisted to the extent of not less than 30 per cent, disabled at 3 per cent and SC/STs at least to the extent of the proportion of their strength.
Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY)	• Started in 1993 for urban areas and From 1 April 1994 extended for throughout the country • Objective of the scheme is to provide self-employment opportunities to educated unemployed youth in the age group of 18 to 35 years. In North-Eastern states the eligible age group is from 18-40. There is a 10-year relaxation for SC/ST, ex-servicemen/physically handicapped and women. • SHGs are considered eligible for financing under the Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana effective from 2003 provided all members individually satisfy the eligibility criteria laid down and total membership does not exceed 20.
Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)	• Started in 2001 with 75:25 cetre:state contribution. • Merging the on-going schemes of EAS and the JGSY. • Objective of providing additional wage employment and food security, alongside creation of durable community assets in rural areas. • Special emphasis on women, SCs, STs and parents of Children withdrawn from hazardous occupations. • The annual outlay for the programme is Rs. 10,000 crore which includes 50 lakh tones on foods grains. • Food grains are provided free of cost to the States/UTs. • Minimum wages are paid to the workers through a mix of minimum five kg of food grains and at least 25 per cent of wages in cash. • Resources are distributed among District Panchayat, Intermediate Panchayats and the Gram Panchayats in the ratio of 20:30:50.
National Food For Work Programme	• Started in 2004 as 100% centrally sponsored scheme. • Implemented in 150 most backward districts of the country so that the generation of supplementary wage employment and providing of food security through creation of need based economic, social and community assets in these districts is further intensified. • Most of the backward district, are in the tribal belts. • Provide 100 days of employment at minimum wages for at least one able-bodied person from each household in the country. • Not be implemented in UTs. • 150 most backward districts to be identified by the Planning Commission in consultation with the Ministry of Rural Development and the State governments. • Subsumed in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)	• Started in 1985 as a sub-scheme of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) and as an Independent scheme since 1996. • Providing assistance to rural BPL ST/STs for the construction of dwelling units and upgradation of existing unserviceable kutcha houses. • Selection of beneficiary by the Gram Sabha is final. No approval by any higher body is required. • Allotment of the house is done in the name of the female members of the households or in the joint names. • Ceiling on assistance for construction of new houses is Rs. 25,000 per unit for the plain areas and Rs. 27,500 per unit for the hilly/ difficult areas. • Included as one of the six components of the ‘Bharat Nirman’ Programme. Under this programme, 60 lakh houses are to be constructed for rural BPL families during a span of four year beginning from 2005-06.
National Social Assistance Programme and Annapurna (NSAP)	• Consists of National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) and National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS). • It was administered by Ministry of Rural Development till the programme was transferred to the State Plan along with the Annapurna Scheme from 2002-03. • Central assistance under NOAPS is Rs. 75 per month for providing pension to a destitute aged 65 years and above, while under NFBS Rs. 10,000 is being provided in the event of death of the primary bread winner of a family and under Annapurna Scheme 10 kg of food grains per month per person is provided free of cost to the beneficiaries. • Since 2006-07, increase in pension under NOAPS from Rs 75 per month per beneficiary to Rs. 200 per month per beneficiary.
Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana	• Launched in 2001 to improve the condition of urban slum dwellers living BPL • Primary objective is to facilitate construction and upgradation of dwelling units and provide healthy environment through community toilets “Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan” • VAMBAY is first scheme of its kind meant exclusively for slum dwellers. • Central Government provides subsidy of 50% and rest arranged by State governments.
Two Million Housing Programme	• Launched in 1998-99 • Objective to provide ‘housing for all’ with emphasis on weaker sections • HUDCO given the responsibility of constructing 10 lakh units every year (6 lakh in rural areas and 4 lakh in urban areas).