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New programmes to focus on basic rural needs

BUDGET 2000

A new scheme, 'Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana' has been launched to undertake time-bound programmes to provide five basic rural needs -- primary education, health care, drinking water, housing and roads in rural areas.

Announcing this, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said that a sum of Rs 50 billion has been provided for the scheme. Out of this, a sum of Rs 25 billion will be earmarked for a nationwide programme to construct rural roads and improve rural connectivity.

Under the scheme, central assistance will be provided to states to implement specific projects in the identified sectors. The concerned central government ministries will lay down the guidelines and monitor the implementation of these programmes. The erstwhile basic minimum services scheme will be merged with the new scheme.

The new initiative in elementary education is a scheme for universalisation of elementary education and will be called 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan'. The scheme would enable enrolment of all children by 2003 and expansion of the district primary education programme to cover the remaining districts in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and Gujarat.

Moreover, the National Literacy Mission will be revamped so that the literacy rate can be raised to 75 per cent by 2005. The plan allocation for elementary education has been increased from Rs 29.31 billion to Rs 37.29 billion.

The outlay for the department of drinking water supply in the ministry of rural development has been enhanced to Rs 21 billion from Rs 18.07 billion. It is proposed to cover around 60,000 habitations and 30,000 schools in the next year.

The reproductive and child health programmes will receive Rs 10.51 billion as against an allocation of Rs 6.95 billion in 1999-2000. For rural housing schemes, a provision of Rs 17.10 billion has been made. Thus the overall provision in the budget for schemes concerning the five basic needs of rural population is more than Rs 130 billion.

UNI

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