Even as the UPA government's flagship programme, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), is yet to deliver the desired results, the rural development ministry is giving shape to another ambitious scheme to generate jobs.
The target this time is to provide employment to 50 million below poverty line (BPL) families over the next seven years.
The scheme, which looks at self-employment for half the target group and skilled jobs for the other half, involves a cost of Rs 50,000 crore, according to Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
The government found that a large rural population was not excited the NREGS as it involved manual work like digging canals and building roads.
Trying to strike a chord with aspirations of the new-age rural India this time, Singh's ministry is thinking about creating a skilled workforce that can find jobs in different industries.
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"We have estimated that the construction sector will need 10 million skilled workers. Similarly, 10 million workers can be absorbed in the textile sector. Food processing, another emerging area, will require at least 5 million people. We will train rural population, one person per family, to grab these opportunities," said Singh
While these three industries can take care of 25 million BPL families, the rest will have to depend on self-employment.
"One person per BPL family will be attached to a self-help group (SHG). Our study has found that almost 7.5 million people/families are artisans involved in traditional crafts. We don't have to give them fresh training but the rural development ministry will take the responsibility of marketing their products," said Singh.
Singh's draft plan says around 9 million people will be involved in the dairy sector. "The government will buy each of them a cow and a buffalo. They will be linked to established dairies as well." The remaining target group will be encouraged in fishery, piggery and poultry sectors.
"For specialised jobs and placement, we have estimated a cost of Rs 15,000 crore. Rs 35,000 crore will be spent on self-employment opportunities in the form of subsidies and marketing assistance," Singh told Business Standard.
A pilot project involving 35,000 BPL families has been launched in seven states. Smelling success, Singh is preparing a draft plan to be presented to the prime minister later this month.
While the UPA government boasts of leading one of the youngest nations, this year's Economic Survey warned that this might turn into a huge disadvantage if the skills of the youths were not harnessed.