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How does Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana help in reducing poverty in rural areas? Explain any three of its objectives that target the poor.
Answer:
Answer by Student
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is a scheme that was launched in 1999 to provide self-employment opportunities to the rural poor. It helps in reducing poverty in rural areas by:
- Organizing the poor into self-help groups and providing them with credit, training and infrastructure support.
- Promoting micro-enterprises and income-generating activities i n various sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, etc.
- Ensuring social empowerment and gender equality among the rural poor.
Detailed Answer by Teachoo
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Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) is a scheme that was launched in 1999 by the Ministry of Rural Development to provide self-employment opportunities to the rural poor. It is a holistic and integrated approach that aims to bring the poor above the poverty line within three years by providing them with sustainable income. It helps in reducing poverty in rural areas by achieving the following objectives that target the poor:
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Organizing the poor into self-help groups (SHGs)
: This is the first and most important step of the scheme. The rural poor are identified and organized into groups of 10-20 members, preferably from the same socio-economic background. The SHGs are encouraged to save regularly and inter-lend among themselves. They are also linked with banks and other financial institutions to access credit at subsidized rates. The SHGs are also provided with capacity building and skill development training to enhance their managerial and entrepreneurial abilities.
- Promoting micro-enterprises and income-generating activities : This is the second step of the scheme. The SHGs are assisted to identify viable economic activities based on their skills, resources and local demand. The activities can be in various sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, sericulture, fisheries, etc. The SHGs are provided with infrastructure support, technology upgradation, marketing linkages and convergence with other schemes to establish and run their micro-enterprises successfully. The SHGs are also encouraged to form clusters or federations at the village or block level to achieve economies of scale and collective bargaining power.
- Ensuring social empowerment and gender equality : This is the third step of the scheme. The SHGs are empowered to participate in the decision-making process at various levels of governance and development. They are also sensitized about their rights and entitlements under various laws and policies. The scheme also promotes gender equality by ensuring that at least 50% of the SHGs are exclusively for women. The women SHGs are given priority in accessing credit, training and other benefits under the scheme. The scheme also addresses the issues of social exclusion and discrimination faced by the marginalized groups such as SCs, STs, minorities, etc.
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