 "Modi government plans schemes for rural youth, women groups")
To widen its rural push and to counter the Opposition's allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government is anti-poor, the Centre is mulling multiple interventions which would include expanding the role of women-driven self help groups (SHGs) and promoting self-employment for rural youth.
Some official said the new crop insurance scheme, approved by the Cabinet recently is part of the many such intervention plans, some of which might come in the Budget and some even before that.
Besides contesting political allegations about its being anti-poor, the government is also trying to give a rural cushion to the struggling economy that has stagnated at 7-7.5 per cent annual growth rates.
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According to BJP sources, help has been sought from village and rural India-centric arms of the party and also the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) to ensure the government's message is passed on to the bottom rung of the pyramid. Help from grassroot networks of bodies such as Sewa Bhartis and Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra is also being sought.
Beside, state models on various schemes are being studied to incorporate some of their ingredients in Central schemes. For instance, late last year, the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra had constituted an expert group to study and provide solutions to unemployment to farmers during the off-peak farm season.
The group, headed by BJP Vice-President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, suggested farmers and their children be trained in 17 skills including bee-keeping and handicrafts etc. The training will start in June and the focus will also be to train the children of farmers who committed suicide in the Vidarbha region.
The group suggested the courses be short-term and the children be taught at a university, which could be set up. Cooperation of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Industrialization in Wardha would also be taken. Trained farmers could, then, get a certificate recognising their skills.
The university could also help farmers secure loans from the MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Bank. The expert group was also looking at cooperatives and distributors with existing market linkages that could help farmers trained by the institute to sell their produce.
"The plan has been inspired by Gandhian philosophy. Our team, which comprises experts from various fields, are currently giving shape to the structure and contents of the courses and skills that the university will offer," said Sahasrabuddhe.
The Centre is also looking at tying up with Krishi Vigyan Kendras, state and central agriculture universities and other such bodies to train farmers in alternative skills such as bee-keeping, and poultry under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.
A new programme to provide self-employment is being worked out as well with more or less the same objective as existing schemes, though in a more structured manner.
Officials said the idea of the new programme is to work on the experience gained from schemes such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, Project LIFE, Rural Mason programme, Bare Foot Technician Programme, etc.
"A brand new programme to create self employment in rural youths is needed as there are quality and certification issues with all such existing initiatives," said an official. He added the basic idea of the programme would be to enable rural youth to contribute to rural growth and prosperity, which in turn would wipe off signs of distress.
Party sources said BJP-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh would be roped in to showcase the new self-employment programme.
On women-run SHG, officials said the idea is not only to scale them up in number, but also to help them develop a self-sustaining business model through enhanced credit linkage.
At present, the 2.5-million strong SHGs in rural areas have less than 15 per cent institutional credit, while plans are afoot to increase it to 30-35 per cent in the next six to eight months.
These groups usually comprise 8-10 women and work in remote areas of the country. The target states for this enhanced role of SHGs are states such as Bihar and Jharkhand, which have a large rural population.
Through these programmes, the BJP hopes to not only counter its anti-farmer image, which the Opposition built around it after it tried to amend the land acquisition Act, but also stake a claim to Gandhian legacy, particularly in the run-up to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019.
The anniversary also coincides with the next Lok Sabha elections.
