Context: Recently, the Pune Rural Administration has been able to implement the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) initiative amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Key Points

• PURA was mooted by the former President Dr. Abdul Kalam in January 2003 as a way of empowering and accelerating rural development.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) implemented the PURA scheme on a pilot basis in seven clusters for a period of three years (2004- 05 to 2006-07).
• PURA 2.0 as a central sector scheme was launched in 2012 focussing on the development of potential growth centres such as census towns.
• Objective: Provision of livelihood opportunities and urban amenities in rural areas to bridge the rural – urban divide.
• Mission: Holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (or a group of Gram Panchayats) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
• Amenities and economic activities provided under PURA include Water and Sewerage, Construction and maintenance of Village streets, Drainage, Solid Waste Management, Skill Development, village street lighting, telecom, electricity generation, village linked tourism, etc.
• In 2014-15, the government made no allocation to the PURA scheme and instead introduced the Rurban Mission with an initial allocation of Rs. 100 crore.
• The aim of the Rurban Mission is to create 300 rural growth clusters across the country.