“Prepare a report on the various poverty

alleviation and employment generation

programmes started in India, with a
special focus on MNREGA”

Avni Kajaria
11D
REF NO: 1044
AY:2023-24
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to take this chance to thank my teacher, Ms. Roy for giving me the opportunity
of doing a project like this. It really was an eye opener on so many levels. Researching for
this assignment broadened my knowledge base of the various government initiatives and
the current poverty and employment situation in our country. It was indeed a highly
valuable, learning and knowledge enriching opportunity.
Sr No. Particulars Page

1. Acknowledgement 2

2. Index 3

3. Objective 4

4. Introduction 5

5. Employment generation schemes/programmes 6-11

launched by the Government of India

6. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment 12-13

Guarantee Act (MNREGA)

7. Conclusion 14

8. Bibliography/Webliography 15
 OBJECTIVE
To understand and analyse the poverty-employment situation of
India and the government initiatives launched to overcome the
same
 INTRODUCTION
The series of humanitarian and economic actions made to eradicate poverty in a nation is
known as poverty alleviation.

The series of humanitarian and economic actions made to eradicate poverty in a nation is
known as poverty alleviation. As per the World Bank, 767 million people worldwide are now
classified as living in severe poverty, which is defined as having a daily income of $1.90 or
less. In accordance with government statistics, 268 million Indians were living on less than
$1.90 a day in 2011. To combat poverty and give impoverished households access to basic
necessities, the Government of India developed a number of programmes and schemes.

In order to enhance living standards ever since independence, India has adopted a number of
social protection programmes, which have assisted the Indian government in reducing
poverty.

Poverty and unemployment are twin problems existing in India. Eradication of poverty can
only happen when the poor participate in the growth process. Therefore, the government has
launched a number of programmes to move towards their goal of reducing poverty

Unemployment rate over the years:

Details of some major Poverty alleviation and employment generation
programmes are :

The Indian government introduced the IRDP in 1978, and it went into effect in 1980.

IRDP’s goal is to assist low-income households in improving their standard of living and to
empower the underprivileged by fostering their overall development. By giving the
program's target groups useful resources and inputs, the program's goals are achieved. These
families
receive financial help from these assets, which may be in the primary, secondary, or tertiary
sectors, in the form of government subsidies as well as loans or credit from financial
organisations

The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) was launched by
the Indian Ministry of Rural Development in 2007 as part of the National Social
Assistance Program (NSAP).

The goal of the old age pension programme is to give eligible recipients social protection.
Senior persons in India will get a monthly pension under the IGNOAP programme.
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is a non-contribution pension.
It indicates that no financial contribution is required from the beneficiary in order to get
the pension.

The National Food for Work Program was launched on November 14th, 2004, in 150 of the
nation's most underdeveloped regions that the Planning Commission had chosen after
consulting with the Ministry of Rural Development and the State Governments.
During the 2004–2005 year, 20 lakh metric tonnes of food grains and Rs. 2020 crore were
allocated for the programme

For 2005-2006, outlay for programmes has been raised to 50 lakh metric tons of food grains
and Rs. 4,500 crore towards the cash component.

The program's goal was to provide additional resources to 150 of the nation's most
underdeveloped districts in addition to those made available under the Sampoorna
Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), in order to further enhance the creation of supplemental
wage jobs and the provision of food security in these areas through the development of
need-based
economic, social, and community assets.

The federal government financed the initiative entirely. Since then, the programme has been
included into NREGA, which is now in effect in 200 districts across the nation, including 150
NFFWP districts. Every rural household whose members agree to perform unskilled manual
labour is guaranteed 100 days of employment under the Act.

In order to strengthen the economy, increase employment generation during the post-COVID
recovery phase, and encourage the creation of new jobs along with social security benefits
and the restoration of lost jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ABRY was announced as a
component of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package.

The target was to reduce the financial burden of employers across various sectors/industries.
This would encourage them to hire more workers. Thus, to achieve this, the scheme was
implemented through the Employee Provident Fund Organisation.

The last for registration of new employees under this scheme was extended from 30th
June, 2021 to 31st March 2022.
It is estimated that 71.8 Lakh employees are expected to benefit during the scheme period.

As on 20.11.2021, benefit was provided to 39.43 lakh beneficiaries through 1.12 lakh
establishments.

The main objective of this scheme is to incentivise employers for new employment.
The scheme would be operational for three years and the employers would be paid
The EPS contribution of 8.33% by the central government for each employment
created. It offers the following benefits:
1) Social security benefits of the organised sector to workers.
2) Employers are given the incentive for increasing the employment base
in establishments.
3) A large number of workers could be employed in such establishments.
With an objective to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant
workers and rural citizens, a vast rural public works scheme of the government of india,
the Abhiyaan was launched on 20th June,2020 from the village named Telihar in the Bihar
district.

It was a 125 days long Abhiyaan with a resource envelope of Rs. 50,000 crore. It aimed to:
1) Provide employment openings to returning migrants and rural citizens who
were similarly affected.
2) Saturate villages with public infrastructure like Anganwadis, Community
Sanitary Complexes, Panchayat Bhawans, etc.
3) Set the stage for increasing the long term employment opportunities for the
target group.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), the GoI, the State Governments, and
Sponsor Banks collaborate on the RSETI (Rural Self Employment Training Institutes)
initiative.
The Banks are mandated to open at least one RSETI in their lead district to provide training
to rural youth to take up self-employment/ entrepreneurship ventures.

The RSETI programme has a strategy of providing entrepreneurs with both short-term
training and ongoing support. Young people in rural poverty between the ages of 18 and 45
are eligible to enrol in the course. By educating rural impoverished kids in the field and in
entrepreneurship, the RSETIs have established themselves as forerunners in seizing their
dreams and transforming them into successful entrepreneurs.
It is a 5 year mission mode project which was launched on 20th July,2015. It is an all
round solution that provides a wide range of employment and career related services to the
Indian citizens. It works towards bridging the gap between services like job matching,
career
counselling, information on skill development courses, vocational guidance, etc.

It reaches out to the people through 3 essential components

1) ICT based portal/ NCS portal
2) Country wide set up of model career centres
3) Interlinking of Employment Exchanges.

The digital centralised portal provides a wide range of career related services including job
search, job matching, rich career content, career counselling, information on Job Fairs,
services of local service providers like drivers, plumbers, etc. for households and various
other services. This portal facilitates registration of Job Seekers, Employers, Skill Providers,
Career Counsellors, Local Service Providers (LSP’s), Career Centers, Placement
Organisations, Households (for availing the services of the LSP’s) and Government
Departments.

VISION: “ Transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally
relevant workforce”

The programme was announced on 25th September, 2014 by the Ministry of Rural
Development. It forms a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission. It has dual objective
of
a) Including diversity to the incomes of poor rural families
b) Cater to the career aspirations of rural youth

This unique aimed programme focused on rural population between the ages of 15 and
25 years coming from poor families.
It has played a vital role in holding up socio-economic programs like Digital India, Stand
up India campaigns, Make In India, Smart cities and Start up India.
India being a youth country, 69% or 180 million of the population lies in the age bracket of
18-34 years living in the rural areas. Of these about 55 million are from poor families with
no or marginal employment.
DDU-GKY is present across 28 states and UTs, and is spread across 689 districts.
The PM street vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing
& Urban Affairs. The objective behind this scheme was to empower street vendors by
extending loans and their economic upliftment and holistic development.
It offers collateral free working capital loans up to Rs. 10,000 for one year to an around
50,00,000 street vendors to help them recommence their businesses in the urban areas and
surrounding peri urban/ rural areas.

It provides the following benefits:

1) Interest subsidy @7%p.a. on repayment of the loan.
2) A cashback offer of up to Rs. 1200 p.a. On taking prescribed digital transactions.
3) Enhanced next tranche of loans.
It is available to all vendors engaged in vending in urban areas as on or before March 24,
2020.

It is one of the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
It was implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation.
It is a Skill Certification scheme with the aim to enable the Indian youth to undertake
skill training that is relevant to industries which in turn will aid them in securing a better
livelihood.
Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
Ministry of MSME, Government of India has implemented the PMEGP.
The objective is to facilitate generation of employment for the unemployed youth in the
country. To achieve this, assistance is being provided to set up micro-enterprises in non-farm
sector.
The main purpose is:
1) To create steady and sustainable opportunities in both rural as well as urban areas
by setting up self employment ventures/projects/micro enterprises.
2) To enhance the earning capacity of the youth who are unemployed which will lead
to and increase in the growth rate of employment.

This scheme is only applicable to new projects under the micro enterprises sector which are
technically and economically viable in both rural and urban areas.
Only one member from each family is eligible to obtain financial assistance under the said
scheme. It also has an underlying aim at encouraging the manufacturing sector and the
Trading/ Business activities.
It was launched on April 8, 2015.
It extends loans up to 10 lakh to the non corporate and non farm small/micro enterprises.
Such loans are termed ‘mudra’ loans under the Yojana and are provided by commercial
banks, small finance banks, MFIs, Non banking financial companies and cooperative banks.
To borrow, one can approach any of the above mentioned institutions or apply online
through the portal.
There are three products under this scheme namely,
“Shishu”- signifies the stage of growth and development. Thus caters to primitive stage
entrepreneurs who require comparatively less funds to start a business.

“Kishore” - funding requirements of the beneficiary micro unit or entrepreneur. They belong
to the group of entrepreneurs who have already started their own business and are looking
for additional funds to mobilise their business.

“Tarun”- phase of graduation and growth. In this phase the entrepreneur can take the highest
level of amount for a start-up loan.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed on 23rd August
2005 and launched on 2nd February, 2006.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) is
a demand-driven wage employment programme. The primary objective of the Scheme is to
guarantee every household in rural regions at least 100 days of unskilled manual labour
every financial year, based on demand, resulting in the production of productive assets of a
specified quality and durability. Under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, a total of 83.82 lakh
works were completed in the most recent financial year 2021–2022 and 133.09 lakh works
were ongoing.

MGNREGA sets itself apart from preceding welfare programmes by focusing on creating
jobs at the community scale. The act's programmes are demand-driven and offer legal
recourse in the event that no work is done or payments are made on time. The programme is
supported by the federal government, which pays for all unskilled labour and 75% of the
material costs for projects carried out in accordance with this law.

Since India's independence on August 15, 1947, the country has struggled economically in
the rural areas, where residents long for greater opportunities to better their lives.
MGNREGA has been a huge assistance in that regard. It was referred to as a "stellar of rural
development" in the World Bank's 2014 World Development Report.

Statistics:

● 2020-21 employment provided to 11.2 crore persons generating 389.2 crore

person days.
Funds of Rs. 1,11,171 crore was released.
● 2021-22 employment provided to 8.85 crore persons generating 240.3 crore
person days.
 Funds of Rs. 68,233 crore released.

As per what the Centre told the parliament on 2nd August 2022, The number of households
that demanded work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme, or MGNREGA, increased from 1.64 crore in 2015 to 3.07 crore in 2022.
funds worth Rs 36,677.79 crore had been released till July 27 which has been dubbed highly
insufficient. Hundreds of labourers and activists protested at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on 2nd
August, demanding adequate funding for the MGNREGA and timely payment of wages to
workers.

The centre owes states like West Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh wage funds but there is
substantial delay in transfer of funds to these states. This delay causes a domino impact
affecting future projects. MGNERGA is showing major gaps in smooth functioning and
without proper government support, the programme will continue showing major signs of
failure.

IMPORTANCE OF THESE PROGRAMMES

These programmes are crucial to reducing poverty because of the following factors:

They aim to assist to lower the rate of poverty in the nation by raising the income levels
of impoverished home families. As a result, there is a strong connection between poverty
and unemployment.

By creating job initiatives in rural regions, it will reduce the movement from rural to
urban areas.

The creation of job programmes will raise income levels, enabling the underprivileged
to access essential services like sanitation, health care, and education.
 CONCLUSION
REASONS FOR FAILURE OF SUCH PROGRAMMES

The following are the main causes of the poverty alleviation initiatives' inefficiency:

The number of disadvantaged households in remote regions may not be precisely

identified and targeted by the poverty reduction programme. As a result, some families
who are not
enrolled in these programmes receive benefits from the facilities instead of those who
are qualified.

Overlapping of comparable government programmes is a key contributor to inefficiency

since it causes misunderstanding among the poor and authorities and prevents the poor from
receiving the program's advantages.

The burden of providing the advantages of the programmes to a large number of people rises
due to the country's overpopulation, which lowers the efficacy of the programmes.

Another important factor is corruption at various stages of plan execution.

The resources allotted for these initiatives are insufficient in light of the severity of poverty.
Furthermore, the implementation of these initiatives is mostly dependent on officials from the
government and banks. As a result of their low motivation, poor training, propensity for
corruption, and susceptibility to pressure, the resources are misused and inefficiently
exploited by a variety of local elites.

Additionally, local institutions do not participate in the execution of programmes.

The great majority of vulnerable individuals who are living on or just above the poverty line
have not been adequately addressed by government programmes. It also shows that poverty
cannot be eradicated by strong development alone. Any programme cannot be successfully
implemented without the poor's active involvement.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Government of India has initiated various poverty alleviation programmes in both rural
and urban areas. The government is attempting to eradicate extreme poverty through
MGNREGA, rural housing, training for youth of rural areas, skill development and self
employment programmes.

In conclusion, even though so many measures have been taken by various Governments
and International Organisations to alleviate the global poverty, the poverty of India is still a
serious situation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/WEBLIOGRAPHY

Government Of India, “Evaluating poverty alleviation”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6957162/ Dec 1 5:45

Government Of India, “Public Finance Statistics”

https://dea.gov.in/data-statistics Dec 1 6:15 PM

Government Of India, “Employment Generation Schemes”

https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes Dec 2 6:36 PM

ThePrint Team, “India’s extreme poverty down by 12.3%”

https://www.centralbankofindia.co.in/en/prime-minister-s-employment-generating-programm
megp- Dec 2 7:00 PM

Government Of India, “Poverty alleviation programmes”

https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/budget_archive/es2004-05/chapt2005/chap103.pdf
Dec 3 7:20 PM

Government Of India, “About National Career Service”

https://www.ncs.gov.in/pages/about-us.aspx Dec 3 8:30 PM

https://angul.nic.in/service/indira-gandhi-national-old-age-pension-scheme-ignoaps/
Government Of India, “Brief Note on ABRY”
https://labour.gov.in/brief-note-abry Dec 4 9:00 PM

Sobhana K. Nair, “Centre owes MNREGA Funds”

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/not-only-bengal-centre-owes-mnrega-funds-to-man
tates/article65593441.ece Dec 4 10:30 PM