The Union Rural Development ministry would sympathetically consider the state government's request for Rs 100 crore in the current financial year to set up a proposed non-banking finance company (NBFC) that is specifically meant to serve the microfinance needs of self-help groups.
Speaking to reporters here today, Union Rural Development minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the state was one of the best performers in the implementation of rural development schemes, and the women's self-help groups in the state were a model for the rest of the country.
“The government of India will sympathetically consider the requests because of the good performance of the state,” he said.
The minister was in the state to review the implementation of the central rural development schemes. Along with the SHG funds, the Union ministry would also get in touch with the Planning Commission to sort out the issue of funds under rural roads scheme, Deshmukh said.
According to chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who apprised the minister of the situation, the state was not getting funds under the Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) because it had already achieved road connectivity to rural areas.
The NBFC would get Rs 500 crore from the Centre, along with contributions from the three to four banks and the state government. It would serve the second and third-round borrowing needs of the SHGs, Reddy said.
According to the minister, at more than Rs 7,000 crore, Andhra Pradesh’s expenditure on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was the highest in the country for the last financial year.
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The flagship programme employed 5.5 million households in the year, while the state's performance in other schemes for rural housing, drinking water and self-employment of BPL families was one of the best in the country, Deshmukh said.
The chief minister said the state had been allocated Rs 11,509 crore by the rural development ministry for its schemes this year. The state also put in funding proposals of Rs 150 crore over three years for skill development of 1.5 million youth.
It also sought increase in funds for employment guarantee scheme and unit cost of housing schemes.
The proposals include upgradation of the Andhra Pradesh Academy of Rural Development (APARD) to a university.