Government programs for infrastructure in rural areas

1. Results have been obtained from placing a high priority on the construction of rural infrastructure, which includes irrigation, rural connection, post-harvest infrastructure, and digital network. Currently, irrigation is used to irrigate around 49% of the nation’s net sown area, however this percentage is stalling (with a compound annual growth rate of only 1.3% between FY 1996 and FY 2015). Between FY 1951 and FY 2017, the length of all rural roads in the nation expanded by more than 20 times, from 0.2 million km to 4.2 million km. 18 The Bharat Net initiative intends to create the greatest rural broadband infrastructure in the world by connecting every 2.5 lac Gram Panchayats in the nation, in addition to Electronic National Agriculture Markets (e-NAMs) under Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis.
2. Government programs with a heavy emphasis on infrastructure include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, AatmaNirbhar Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), SP Mukherjee Rurban Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G), Jal Jeevan Mission.
3. The Union Budget for FY2022 made significant statements for the development of rural infrastructure. The projections for capital spending were increased by the Budget by 34.5% over the prior year to ‘5.54 lac crore.

Conclusion:

Investment in infrastructure is a key component of the transition to a more resilient and sustainable world and contributes significantly to economic growth. The public and private sectors, as well as the communities they serve, must reconsider how infrastructure is delivered in order to achieve these results. By having a favorable impact on agricultural output, real incomes, and employment in both the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, rural infrastructures contribute to the reduction of poverty. Lower levels of rural poverty have been linked to higher farm productivity, per capita farm revenue, and employment in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. By supplying and facilitating the delivery of essential services like access to electricity, clean drinking water, and sanitary facilities, infrastructure also directly helps to the reduction of poverty. It is necessary to establish a national organisation to identify and rank initiatives for funding and oversight.

Any nation’s infrastructure serves as its foundation. It is still difficult to predict how expenditures in physical infrastructure would affect economic growth, particularly in rural areas. It is crucial to a country’s ability to foster economic progress, and India is no exception. When it comes to the nation’s rural infrastructure, it is essential for agro-industries, agriculture, and the reduction of rural poverty. Rural roads, significant dams, and canal works for irrigation and drainage, rural housing, rural water supply, rural electrification, and rural telecommunication connectivity are typical components of rural infrastructure in the nation. Although much has been accomplished since India’s independence. The country’s objective of delivering sustainable and inclusive rural development by expanding social safety, enhancing economic options, and creating child-centered industrial infrastructure is still distant from reality. Urban and rural growth must coexist, not one at the expense of the other. India’s youngsters must be encouraged to innovate in their rural communities.