|
It is a major challenge to design and
implement effective social protection schemes to tackle rural poverty.
Specific protection measures are essential for the many who are unable
to engage fully with the productive economy (because of old age,
disability, ill-health or large numbers of dependents) since these can
at best benefit only very indirectly from livelihood promotion efforts,
such as those to stimulate agricultural growth.
In India, 70% of the 30% of the population
currently in poverty, live in rural areas, and nearly three quarters of
these depend primarily on agriculture. Malnutrition is widespread, with
207 million people unable to access enough food to meet basic
nutritional needs, and over half of children under 5 years underweight.
The Indian government spends US$5.5bn on poverty-reduction schemes,
including around US$3bn on schemes administered by the Rural Development
Department. These include: transfers to the poorest (the National Old
Age Pension Scheme, the National Housing Scheme, and many food
distribution schemes); asset-building schemes, (e.g. the Accelerated
Rural Water Supply Programme and the Drought Prone Areas Programme);
employment creation; and promotion of self-employment. Other government
departments have their own initiatives, the largest of which is the
Public Distribution System, in which over 450,000 ‘fair price shops’
nationwide serve some 160m families with subsidised food. Together with
its storage and acquisition system, this costs around a further
US
$5.0bn.
|
