Programmes of rural development- 2 | Sociology Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC)

The Total Sanitation Campaign is a comprehensive program aimed at ensuring sanitation facilities in rural areas with the broader goal of eradicating the practice of open defecation. Initiated in 1999, TSC was developed as a reform principle under the Central Rural Sanitation Programme, making it demand-driven and people-centered. The campaign follows a principle of low to no subsidy, providing a nominal subsidy as an incentive for rural poor households to construct toilets.

• TSC emphasizes Information Education and Communication (IEC), Capacity Building, and Hygiene Education for effective behavior change, involving Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Key intervention areas include Individual Household Latrines (IHHL), School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE), and Community Sanitary Complexes, supported by Rural Sanitary Marts and Production Centers (PCs). The Government of India aims to eradicate open defecation practices by 2010.
• To facilitate this endeavor, the Government of India has launched the Nirmal Gram Puraskar, an award recognizing the efforts of fully covered PRIs and individuals or institutions that have contributed significantly to ensuring full sanitation coverage in their operational areas. The project is being implemented in rural areas, taking the district as the unit of implementation.

Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP) Scheme

The Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP) Scheme aims at the development of wastelands, primarily in non-forest areas, to check land degradation and put such wastelands to sustainable use, increasing biomass availability, particularly fuelwood, fodder, fruits, fiber, and small timber. The Government of India is taking up this monumental task through the IWDP, revitalizing and reviving village-level institutions and enlisting people's participation. The IWDP is a people's own program, designed to give them actual decision-making powers in implementation and fund disbursement.

The main objective of the IWDP is integrated wasteland development based on village/micro-watershed plans, which are prepared after considering land capability, site conditions, and local needs. The scheme also aims at rural employment and enhancing people's participation in wasteland development programs at all stages, ensuring equitable and sustainable sharing of benefits and resources arising from such projects. Major activities under the IWDP include:

• In situ soil and moisture conservation measures
• Planting and sowing of multipurpose trees, shrubs, grasses, and legumes
• Pasture land development
• Encouraging natural regeneration
• Promotion of agroforestry and horticulture
• Wood substitution and fuelwood conservation measures
• Awareness raising, training, and extension
• Encouraging people's participation through community organization and capacity building
• Drainage line treatment by vegetative and engineering structures
• Afforestation of degraded forests and non-forest wastelands
• Development of small water harvesting structures

Watershed Development: Watershed Development refers to the conservation, regeneration, and sustainable use of all resources, both natural (like land, water, plants, and animals) and human, within the watershed area. Watershed Management aims to strike the best possible balance between natural resources and human and animal inhabitants. Since humans are primarily responsible for environmental imbalances, watershed development can only be achieved by promoting awareness and participation among the people who inhabit the watershed.

National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is a central government initiative aimed at providing social security and financial assistance to poor families in India. The program comprises three separate schemes, namely, National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). The NSAP aims to ensure minimum national standards of social assistance in addition to the benefits that the states are currently providing or might provide in the future. The program provides 100% central assistance to states and union territories to ensure uniform and uninterrupted social protection for beneficiaries across the country.

1. National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)
Under the National Old Age Pension Scheme, central assistance is provided to senior citizens who meet the following criteria:

• The applicant (male or female) should be 65 years or older.
• The applicant must be destitute, meaning they have no regular means of subsistence from their own source of income or through financial support from family members or other sources.
• The amount of old age pension is Rs 75 per month, and the scheme is implemented through Panchayats and Municipalities in states and union territories.

2. National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS): he NFBS is designed to provide financial assistance to households below the poverty line in the event of the death of the primary breadwinner. The primary breadwinner is defined as a family member whose earnings contribute substantially to the total household income. The assistance provided under this scheme is Rs 10,000.

3. National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS): The NMBS aims to provide financial assistance to pregnant women from households living below the poverty line for up to the first two live births. A lump sum cash assistance of Rs 500 is provided to pregnant women who are 19 years of age or older.

4. Annapurna Yojana: The Annapurna Yojana, launched on 19th March 1999, initially provided 10 kg of food grains to senior citizens who were eligible for old age pensions but could not get them due to various reasons. Later, the scheme was extended to include those who receive old age pensions.

5. Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP): The DPAP was launched in 1973-74 to address the specific problems faced by areas constantly affected by severe drought conditions. Based on the recommendations of the Hanumantha Rao Committee (1994), the program has been implemented on a watershed basis since 1995, with the responsibility for planning, executing, and maintaining watershed projects entrusted to local people's organizations.
Objectives of DPAP include:

• Minimizing the adverse effects of drought on crop production, livestock, and the productivity of land, water, and human resources.
• Promoting overall economic development and improving the socio-economic conditions of resource-poor and disadvantaged sections in affected areas.
• Implementing development work using a watershed approach for land development, water resource development, and afforestation/pasture development.

6. Desert Development Programme (DDP): The Desert Development Programme (DDP) was launched in 1977-78 based on recommendations from the National Commission on Agriculture. The program initially focused on hot desert areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana, and cold desert areas of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The coverage was later extended to a few districts in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Objectives of DDP include:

• Mitigating the adverse effects of desertification and adverse climatic conditions on crops, human, and livestock populations.
• Restoring ecological balance by harnessing, conserving, and developing natural resources such as land, water, and vegetative cover, and increasing land productivity.
• Implementing developmental works through a watershed approach for land development, water resource development, and afforestation/pasture development.

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched on April 12, 2005, to meet the objectives of the National Population Policy 2000 and provide adequate healthcare facilities to the common man in India. The mission's primary goals are to reduce infant mortality rates, maternal mortality rates, prevent and control diseases, and improve overall public health in rural areas.

• Key components of the NRHM include providing a female health activist in each village, preparing a village health plan through a local team headed by the Health & Sanitation Committee of the Panchayat, strengthening rural hospitals for effective curative care, and making healthcare services accountable to the community through Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). The mission aims to provide effective healthcare to the rural population, with a special focus on 18 states with weak public health indicators and/or infrastructure.
• The government has allocated a budget of Rs. 6510 Crores for the mission, which will be overseen by a steering group chaired by the Prime Minister.
• The Rural Electrification Programme, implemented by the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), focuses on providing electricity to rural areas in the country. To date, more than 85% of the 580,000 villages in India have been electrified. However, only 31% of rural households have access to electricity compared to 76% of urban households. To address this issue, various State Electricity Boards (SEBs) have launched Kutir Jyoti schemes, which provide single-point (one bulb) connections to economically weaker households.
• The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources has implemented a programme for the electrification of remote villages through renewable energy sources. As of March 31, 2004, 15,663 remote villages and 316 remote hamlets were electrified through this initiative.
• The government has also promoted area-based rural energy programmes, such as the Integrated Rural Energy Programme (IREP) and the Urjagram initiative. The IREP focuses on energy planning at the block level, while the Urjagram initiative aims to make individual villages self-sufficient in their energy needs by using a combination of renewable energy technologies

• The Kutir Jyoti Scheme, launched in 1988-89, aims to improve the living standards of scheduled caste and tribal families living below the poverty line by providing government assistance for single-point electricity connections in their homes. By March 2002, the scheme had provided over 48.5 lakh single-point connections to rural households at a cost of about Rs. 317 crores.
• The National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, 2004, promises wage employment to every rural household in which adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work. The scheme aims to alleviate poverty by guaranteeing at least 100 days of employment per year. Initially, the programme will cover 200 districts, with plans to expand to all 600 districts in the country within five years. 

Demerits of the Bill

• The decision to provide Rs 60 per day for a guaranteed 100 days rural employment translated to only Rs 500 a month,, which is not sufficient to run a family.
• The law could lead to friction within a family over selection of the member to be provided the job.
• It is feared that in the process women and physically challenged could be left out.
• The decision to make the state government's finance 10 per cent of the scheme could lead to financial problems because of the poor financial conditions of some state.

Conclusion

The Indian government has implemented various programs and initiatives to address issues in rural areas, such as sanitation, wasteland development, social assistance, healthcare, and electrification. These programs, such as the Total Sanitation Campaign, Integrated Wasteland Development Project, National Social Assistance Programme, National Rural Health Mission, and Rural Electrification Programme, aim to improve the living standards of the rural population and promote development. However, there are concerns about the effectiveness and sustainability of these initiatives, as well as the potential for negative social impacts. Overall, it is crucial to continuously evaluate and improve these programs to ensure they are effectively addressing rural needs and promoting equitable development.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of Rural And Agrarian Transformation In India

What is the main objective of the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC)?

The main objective of the Total Sanitation Campaign is to ensure sanitation facilities in rural areas with the broader goal of eradicating the practice of open defecation. The campaign follows a demand-driven, people-centered approach and emphasizes Information Education and Communication (IEC), Capacity Building, and Hygiene Education for effective behavior change.

What are the key components of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)?

The key components of the NRHM include providing a female health activist in each village, preparing a village health plan through a local team headed by the Health & Sanitation Committee of the Panchayat, strengthening rural hospitals for effective curative care, and making healthcare services accountable to the community through Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS).

What is the main aim of the Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP) Scheme?

The main aim of the IWDP Scheme is to develop wastelands, primarily in non-forest areas, to check land degradation and put such wastelands to sustainable use, increasing biomass availability, particularly fuelwood, fodder, fruits, fiber, and small timber. The scheme also focuses on rural employment and enhancing people's participation in wasteland development programs at all stages.

How does the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) provide financial assistance to poor families in India?

The NSAP comprises three separate schemes: National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). These schemes provide financial assistance to senior citizens, families below the poverty line who have lost their primary breadwinner, and pregnant women from households living below the poverty line, respectively.

What is the Kutir Jyoti Scheme and its main objective?

The Kutir Jyoti Scheme, launched in 1988-89, aims to improve the living standards of scheduled caste and tribal families living below the poverty line by providing government assistance for single-point electricity connections in their homes. By March 2002, the scheme had provided over 48.5 lakh single-point connections to rural households at a cost of about Rs. 317 crores.