Self employment in rural areas : Rural Employment Generation Program .

Self employment in urban areas : Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana .

In India , poverty exists both in rural and urban areas . The urban poor are largely the overflow of the rural poor who migrated to urban areas in search in employment and livelihood . The modern industries does not absorb all these surplus labour as they are unskilled . Most of the urban poor are either unemployed or face irregular job opportunities .

The ' food for work ' programme was started in 1970's . This programme aims at ensuring food for poor in stead of money . It provides assurance to the family of the worker to get minimum food to eat and survive well . Then , this programme can solve the problem of malnutrition and poverty to a great extent .

Reducing poverty has been one of the major objec tives of India's Developmental strategies . The government's approach to poverty reduction was of three dimensions . The first one is growth oriented approach . It is based on the expectation that the effects of economic growth - rapid increase in gross would domestic product and per capita income spread to all sections of society and will trickledown to the poor sections also . With the view to reduce the magnitude of poverty , the govemment has under taken a lot of programs from time to time . Some of them are Employment Generation Programme ( REGP ) , Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana ( PMRY ) and Swama JayantiShahari Rozgar Yojana ( SJSRY ) Na tional Food for Work Programme ( NFWP ) and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana ( SGRY ) . Due to unequal distribution of land and other assets , the benefits from direct poverty alleviation programmes have been appropriated by the non - poor . Compared to the magnitude of poverty , the amount of resources allocated for these programmes is not sufficient . Moreover , these programmes depend mainly on government and bank officials for their implementation . Since such officials are ill motivated , inadequately trained , corruption prone and vulnerable to pressure from a variety of local elites , the resources are inefficiently used and wasted . There is also non participation of local level institutions in programme implementation .

Through the policy towards poverty alleviation has evolved in a progressive manner but over the last five and a half decades it has not undergone any radical transformation .

Scholars state three major areas of concem which prevent the success implementation of the programs , they are -

• i ) Unequal distribution of land and other assets due to the benefits have been availed by the non - poor .
• ii ) In comparison to the magnitude of poverty the amount of resources allocated for these programmes is not sufficient .
• iii ) These programs depend mainly on government and bank officials for their implementation since such officials are ill motivated , inadequately trained , corruption prone and vulnerable to pres sure from a variety of local clites , the resources are inefficiently used and wasted .

Poverty is defined as the situation in which people are unable to satisfy the basic necessities of life . Open unemployment and disguised unemployment are the features of urban unemployment . Urban people possess many assets . Whereas in rural areas , people possess few assets and disguised unemployment is found .

Factors associated with poverty are :

• - unemployment
• - indebtedness
• - unequal distribution of wealth
• - low levels of education and skill
• - ill health and sickness
• - preasure of population
• - low capital formation
• - lack of infrastructure

Absolute poverty is customary to fix the minimum level of diet , which can provide 2250 calories per day . On the other hand , relative poverty is made by a comparison of the relative levels of income of the top 10 or 20 percent with the bottom 10 or 20 percent of the population .

Yes , Absolute poverty exist in my neighbourhood .

Absolute poverty is defined as the inability to achieve the minimum requirement of life , health and efficiency as a result of very low level of income . On the otherhand , relative poverty makes a comparison of relative levels of income of different people or groups of population to determine who is poor .

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Kudumbasree.

Poverty line is defined as per capita consumption expenditure which is required to attain a minimum acceptable standard of living .

The following are the measures to solve the problem of poverty in a village like that of mine .

• i ) creating more employment opportunities in the rural areas
• ii ) educating the villagers
• iii ) encouraging small scale and cottage industries to generate employment
• iv ) spreading awareness regarding health and sanitation
• v ) they should be made aware of the different schemes offered to them by the government
• vi ) the government should provide them with basic amenities such as schools , roads , hospitals communication facilities etc.

Poverty is explained by individual circumstances and / or characteristics of poor people . Some examples are

• i) low levels of education and skills
• ii ) infirmity , ill health , sickness discrimination .

• i ) Social , economic and political inequality
• ii ) Social exclusion
• iii ) Unemployment
• iv ) Indebtedness
• v ) Unequal distribution of wealth .

• i) Low capital formation
• ii) Lack of infrastructure
• iii ) Lack of demand
• iv ) Pressure of population Lack of social / welfare nets .

Reducing poverty has been one of the major objectives of India's Developmental strategies . The government's approach to poverty reduction was of three dimensions . The first one is growth oriented approach . It is based on the expectation that the effects of economic growth - rapid increase in gross domestic product and per capita income - would spread to all sections of society and will trickledown to the poor sections also . With the view to reduce the magnitude of poverty , the govemment has under taken a lot of programs from time to time . Some of them are Employment Generation Programme ( REGP ) , Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana ( PMRY ) and Swarna JayantiShahari Rozgar Yojana ( SJSRY ) Na tional Food for Work Programme ( NFWP ) and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana ( SGRY ) . Due to unequal distribution of land and other assets , the benefits from direct poverty alleviation programmes have been appropriated by the non - poor . Compared to the magnitude of poverty , the amount of resources allocated for these programmes is not sufficient . Moreover , these programmes depend mainly on government and bank officials for their implementation . Since such officials are ill motivated , inadequately trained , corruption prone and vulnerable to pressure from a variety of local elites , the resources are inefficiently used and wasted . There is also non participation of local level institutions in programme implementation .

Government policies have also failed to address the vast majority of vulnerable people who are living on or just above the poverty line . It also reveals that high growth alone is not sufficient to reduce poverty . Without the active participation of the poor , successful implementation of any programme is not possible . However , the success of these programmes is negligible . They have not produced the expected results in reducing the poverty rate in India especially in the rural areas . Therefore , it can be concluded that the anti - poverty programmes being implemented by the government are not sufficient for reducing our country's poverty .

Through the policy towards poverty alleviation has evolved in a progressive manner but over the last five and a half decades it has not under gone any radical transformation . Scholars state three major areas of concern which prevent the success implementation of the programs , they are -

• i ) Unequal distribution of land and other assets due to the benefits have been availed by the non - poor .
• ii ) In comparison to the magnitude of poverty the amount of resources allocated for these programmes is not sufficient .
• iii ) These programs depend mainly on government and bank officials for their implementation since such officials are ill motivated , inadequately trained , corruption prone and vulnerable to pres sure from a variety of local clites , the resources are inefficiently used and wasted .

The features of rural poverty are :

• Open , under an disguised unemployment are found simultaneously in rural areas

• It is difficult to differentiate between open unemployment and under employment in rural areas

• No or meager facility of education , employment , social welfare etc lead to poverty among the masses

• Rural people posses few assets and many are landless

• Open unemployment is generally found

• One can differentiate between open and disguised unemployment

• Good facility of education , drinking water , sanitation etc make the standard of living of urban people high

• Urban people posses many assets

The following are the measures to solve the problem of poverty in a village like that of mine .

• i ) creating more employment opportunities in the rural areas
• ii ) educating the villagers
• iii ) encouraging small scale and cottage industries to generate employment
• iv ) spreading awareness regarding health and sanitation
• v ) they should be made aware of the different schemes offered to them by the government
• vi ) the government should provide them with basic amenities such as schools , roads , hospitals communication facilities etc.

The poverty alleviation programmes in India can be categorized based on whether it is targeted for rural areas or urban areas . Most of the programmes are designed to target rural poverty as the prevalence of the poverty is high in rural areas . Also targeting of the poor is challenging in rural areas due to various geographic and infrastructure limitations . The programmes can be mainly grouped into :

• I ) Wage employment programmes
• II ) Self - employment programmes
• III ) Food security programmes
• IV ) So cial security programmes and
• V ) Urban poverty alle viation programmes.

• i ) Legal elimination of bonded labourers .
• ii ) Preventing the centralisation of wealth by modifying the law .
• iii ) Antyodaya plan .
• iv ) Small Farmers Development Programme ( SFDP )
• v ) Drought Area Development Programme ( DADP )
• vi ) Twenty point programme
• vii ) Food for work programme
• viii ) Minimum needs programme ( MNP )
• ix ) Integrated Rural Development Programme ( IRDP )
• x ) National Rural Employment Programme ( NREP )
• xi ) Rural Labour Employment Guarantee Programme ( RLEGP )
• xii ) TRYSEM scheme
• xiii ) Jawahar Rojgar Yojna ( JRY )
• xiv ) Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna .
• xv ) National Social Assistance Programme ( NSAP )
• xvi ) Rural Housing Programme .
• xvii ) Indira Awas Yojana .
• xviii ) Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Yojna .
• xix ) Nehru Rozgar Yojna ( NRY )
• xx ) Self - Employment Programme for the Urban Poor , ( SEPUP )
• xxi ) Prime Minister's Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme ( PMIUPEP )

The focus of attention should not be on individual households but on the group of households . The assets of the individual household should be pooled together to start occupation when are technically feasible and economically viable .

The poverty alleviation programmes of India has three approach . Growth oriented approach . This approach based on trickle down was followed in the 1950s . But the benefits of development did not trickle down as expected and the problem of poverty persisted . An alterative approach was adopted which stressed on providing empolyment to the poor and supplementing their income in order to pull them out of poverty . The third approach adopted in India to address the issue of poverty was through provision of minimum basic amenities to the people .

• I) Swamajayanti Grameen Swarogar Yojana ( SGSY ) : It was launched in 1999. This programme was introduced by merging some of the programmes prevailing before . They are following .
  • TRYSEM ( 1979 ) : This programme aims at providing training to poor rural youth to enable them to take up selfemployment .

  • IRDP ( 1980 ) : Integrated Rural development programme .

  This programme was assiting to find self employ ment to farmers who live below poverty line , agri cultural labourers and craftsmen in rural areas .
  • DWCRA ( 1982 ) : Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas .

  It was launched for the development of women and children in rural areas .

  Million well scheme : It was mainly introduced through self help groups .

• II ) Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana ( SGRY ) 2001 :

  The programme aims at providing food security and employment to rural people . The related programmes are :

  • RLEGP (Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme). This programme provides Employment to rural landless labour.

  • JRY ( Jawahar Rozgar Yojana ) : It provides employment to rural poor .

  • NREP ( National Rural Employment Programme ) : It was the new name given to the restructured food for work programme . Later all these programmes were integrated with SGRY .

  • JGSY ( Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana ) : It was launched in 1999. It objective was the creation of social assets in rural areas .

• III ) Nehru Rozgar Yojana ( NRY ) : This programme aims at providing employment to urban poor .
• IV ) Swama Jayanthi Shahari Rozgar Yojana ( SJSRY ) : The aim of this programme is to reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful , self employment and skilled employment opportunities
• V ) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana ( PMRY ) : Under this programme , the educated unemployed from low income families in rural and urban areas can get financial help to set up enterprise .
• VI ) MGNREGP ( 2006 ) : Govt promises 100 days of guarantee wage em ployment to all rural households who are willing to provide unskilled manual work .

Food security programmes

• Public distribution system ( PPS )

• Integrated Child Devt Scheme ( ICDS )

• Midday Meals at School ( 1995 )

• Annapurna Scheme ( 2001 )

• Antyodaya Anna Yojana

Social Security Programmes

• Janasree Bhima Yojana

• Rashtriya Swasthya Bhima Yojana ( 2007 )

• Am Admi Bhima Yojana ( 2007 )

Criticism

• ● The benefits of these programmes have been en joyed mostly by the non - poor .
• ● The amount allocated for these programme is in sufficient .
• ● The insufficient use of resources have been ad versely affected the implementation of the programmes .
• ● The lack of active participation of these . programmes does not lead to successful effects .

The govt . implement many programmes to reduce poverty . REGP , PMRY , SJSRY , SJSY , MNREGS are few among them . The rate of poverty has been mitigated due to the implementation of these programmes . However there are a lot of problems associated with these policies . They are given below .

• a ) The amount of resources allocated for these programmes is not sufficient .
• b ) The effectiveness of the implementation of these programmes depend mainly on government and bank officials . May such officials are ill motivated , inadequately trained and corrupt . So the resources reach at the hand of the people who do not reserve it .
• c ) There is non - participation of local level institutions in programme implementation .
• d ) The government also failed to address the vast majority of vulnerable people who are living on or just above the poverty line .

The poverty reduction approach of the government near of three dimensions .

• a ) Growth oriented approach .
• b ) Income and employment creation specifically for the poor .
• c ) Providing basic amenities to the people .

The Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme ( RLEGP ) : This programme was launched on 15th August 1983 to supplement NREP . This is a centrally sponsored scheme with 100 percent fund by the union government .

The PMRY : It was launched on 1st April , 2000 . The programme aims at providing the housing needs of the rural people .

Providing basic amenities includes Integrated Child Development Scheme , Mid - day Meal Scheme , Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana , Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana , Valmiki Ambedkar Avas Yojana , etc.

Integrated Child Development Schemes ( ICDS ) : A nutrition programme meant for children below 6 years of age , pregnant and lactating women .

Mid - day Meal at School : Mid - day Meal at School is in operation in several states . The programme was launched in all India level on 15th August 1995 .

Poverty is the inability to secure the minimum con sumption requirements like food , clothing , education , housing , health etc. Poverty line is the cut - off point which divides population as poor and non - poor . Several poverty eradication programmes are being introduced by the government to reduce poverty in one locality . Some of them are :

• - Rural Employment Generation Programme ( REGP )
• - Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana ( PMRY )
• - Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarogar Yojana ( SGSY )
• - National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme ( NREGP )

National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme ( NREGP ) 2005 : In August 2005 , the Parliament has passed a new Act known as Na tional Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005. The act provides guaranteed wage employment to every household whose adult volunteer is to do unskilled manual work for a minimum of 100 days in a year . The act came into force from 2nd February 2006 and implemented in India's 200 most backward districts . Later on it was extended to all over the country in two phases . The programme was later on renamed as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme ( MGNREGP ) or commonly called Employment Assurance Scheme .

Critical Assessment of Poverty Alleviation Programmes : Through the policy towards poverty alleviation has evolved in a progressive manner but over the last five and a half decades it has not under gone any radical transformation . Scholars state three major areas of concern which prevent the success implementation of the programs , they are -

• i ) Unequal distribution of land and other assets due to the benefits have been availed by the non - poor .
• ii ) In comparison to the magnitude of poverty the amount of resources allocated for these programmes is not sufficient .
• iii ) These programs depend mainly on government and bank officials for their implementation since such officials are ill motivated , inadequately trained , corruption prone and vulnerable to pres sure from a variety of local clites , the resources are inefficiently used and wasted .