Rural development programmes
Note
Flagship schemes drive rural development through distinct design architectures: MGNREGA (wage employment guarantee), PMGSY (rural road connectivity), PMAY-Gramin (rural housing), RURBAN Mission (cluster development), and SVAMITVA (drone-based property rights mapping). Skilling is delivered through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), which operate via a three-way partnership among MoRD, NABARD, and commercial banks, integrating bank-led credit linkage, government funding, and post-training handholding. Outcomes are measured against poverty alleviation, rural infrastructure targets, and SDG goals, with programme design — targeting, fund-flow, grievance redress, and convergence — as the critical variable.
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Questions on this topic
Consider the following pairs regarding the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and its constitutional and statutory framework:
- Constitutional basis of NSAP — Article 41 of the Directive Principles of State Policy
- Benchmark Disability criterion (40% disability) for pension eligibility — Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
- National Family Benefit Scheme — component of NSAP providing assistance to widows of poor households
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Explanation
Pair 1 is correctly matched: NSAP draws its constitutional legitimacy from Article 41 of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which directs the State to make effective provision for securing the right to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness, and disablement. Pair 2 is correctly matched: the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 introduced the 'Benchmark Disability' concept, setting 40 per cent as the threshold disability for entitlements — and the revised NSAP disability pension eligibility is now aligned with this statutory criterion. Pair 3 is incorrectly matched: the National Family Benefit Scheme is NOT a widow-assistance scheme. It is a lump-sum family benefit paid to households below the poverty line upon the death of the primary breadwinner — it is distinct from the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (now renamed Pradhan Mantri Vidhawa Pension Yojana), which is the component specifically meant for widows. Confusing the family benefit scheme with widow assistance is a classic near-miss error in NSAP structure questions.
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