What is the issue?

• The recent HSBC study points out that 69% of rural households who own up to 1 hectare of land or are landless do not seem to have faces rural distress unlike the top 31 percent.
• Nearly 8.85 crore households in rural India is reported either a deprivation or automatically excluded from the developmental process.
• The report on functioning of DAY - NRLM brings out to notice that the incomes were 22 percent higher in the implemented areas than in control areas and how greater investments in productive assets and in education, health and nutrition was seen wherever women Self Help Groups under DAY NRLM is active.
• Poverty free, connotes an ability to develop one's fullest human potential through education, health, skills, sanitation, clean drinking water, nutrition, food security, housing, gender and social equality and empowerment, most of all sustainable diversified economic activities for higher incomes.

What are the Government Interventions?

• Financial allocations have been almost doubled when compared to 2012 -2013 levels by allocating 1.05 lakh crores to rural India programmes.
• The Annual transfers under 14th Finance commission to Gram Panchayats have been increased to 35,000 crores from 25,000 crores.
• The convergence of Animal Husbandry and livelihood diversification has also added additional incomes to the households.
• The dream of one crore beautiful households for the poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has been modified and given new impetus to cater homeless people needs.
• The special allocation up to 60 percent was made under MGNREGS for the Agriculture and allied activities which ensures a prosperous village.
• The new mission on water conservation guidelines is created to give a thrust on 2264 water stressed blocks and with a focus of developing technologically sound and scientifically vetted water conservation.
• The planning exercise under the Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise in the backward blocks using the SECC deprivation data and knocking the doors of every household and planning for its well being strengthened the partnership with poorest households.
• The use of citizen centric apps like "Meri Sadak" app which is used to get the feedback on roads, which helps to upload pictures of conditions of roads facilitated more connection to households.
• A cell phone based Janata Information system is launched whereby every program in the village concerned can be seen by any villager to improve the scrutiny of the implementation of the program.
• The availability of Banking correspondent or post Office outlet with micro ATMs at fixed village locations on pre determined dates will unlock the potential of digital transactions which will aid the migrant labours, pensioners, etc.,.
• The schemes like PMGSY, PMAY uses space technology for geo tagging of assets which enables better maintenance and avoids duplication.
• The DAY NRLM scheme has demonstrated enormous social capital through community mobilisation and group formation, the economic activity development and livelihood diversification.
• The detailed monitoring of bank linkage program ultimately aims at poverty reduction and also provide access to the formal institutional credit system.
• Special training programs for Barefoot Technicians and rural masons aims to reduce over time and aims to provide the skilled employment for better wages and remuneration.
• The Livelihood in Full Employment (LIFE) initiative under MNREGS to promote skill development among MNREGA workers is an example of large scale innovation to reduce poverty and enhance the status of poor.
• The solid resource management and liquid resource management programs in states like Tamilnadu, AP and Telangana provided good results and it will be implemented all over the Nation in the coming years.
• The use of space technology like ISRO's Bhuvan portal for crop assessment and usage of digital assessment in PMFBY aids faster settlement of claims which also helps in reduction of distress of farmers.