The Department of Rural Development has been making concerted efforts to improve the work availability in rural areas. Besides wage employment opportunities under MGNREGS, it is also promoting skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled wage labour in a very large rural housing programme like PMAY-Gramin and in road construction sector under PMGSY. The Budget of the Department of Rural Development has more than doubled since 2012-13. Adding the State contribution, in all the programmes as also the large transfers under the 14th Finance Commission for rural infrastructure, the total fund available is over 3 times of what it was 5 years ago. 51 lakh houses under construction, nearly 1 lakh kilometers of roads in different stages of construction and large scale wage work available under MGNREGS especially for agriculture and allied activities, have ensured greater opportunities for wage employment.
The Department is also promoting enterprises through a concerted thrust on Bank loan linkage for women Self-Help Groups under Deendayal Antyodaya National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Currently, the linkage is of more than Rs. 47,000 crores, which is being used to promote useful enterprises like Custom Hiring Centers, rural transport, agriculture and allied activities, animal husbandry, horticulture, handloom and handicrafts, retail business etc. The Bank linkage for women Self-Help Groups has also more than doubled over the last 3 years. The placement-based wage employment skill programmes like DDU-GKY and the self-employment programmes through RSETI are also helping households to move up the skilling ladder and in diversifying livelihoods.
MGNREGS being a demand-based programme, over Rs.40,000 crores from Government of India has already been released to States.
