Government Schemes in India play a crucial role in solving many socio-economic problems that beset Indian society, and thus their awareness is a must for any concerned citizen. These are launched by the government to address the social and economic welfare of the citizens of this nation. The Housing for All scheme was an initiative of the Indian government to establish housing facilities for slum dwellers. It was introduced by the Indian government’s Ministry of Housing and urban poverty Alleviation. This is also known as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. It is for both people residing in urban and rural areas that fulfill certain criteria.

TOPICS COVERED IN THE ARTICLE

  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
  • Aim
  • Latest Development

PRADHAN MANTRI AWAS YOJANA

  • About the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G):
  • Launch: To achieve the objective of “Housing for All” by 2022, the erstwhile rural housing scheme Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was restructured to Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) w.e.f 1st April, 2016.
  • Ministry Involved: Ministry of Rural development.

AIM

  • To provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all rural families, who are homeless or living in kutcha or dilapidated houses by the end of March 2022.
  • To help rural people Below the Poverty Line (BPL) in construction of dwelling units and upgradation of existing unserviceable kutcha houses by providing assistance in the form of a full grant.
  • Beneficiaries: People belonging to SCs/STs, freed bonded labourers and non-SC/ST categories, widows or next-of-kin of defence personnel killed in action, ex servicemen and retired members of the paramilitary forces, disabled persons and minorities.
  • Selection of Beneficiaries: Through a three stage validation - Socio Economic Caste Census 2011, Gram Sabha, and geo-tagging.
  • Cost Sharing: The cost of unit assistance is shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.

LATEST DEVELOPMENT

  • E-Book of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs showing the progress and achievements of all Missions of the Ministry.
  • National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) Website is revamped to strengthen it as a knowledge bank for emerging topics on urban development, while continuing to be a source of everyday resources for urban development functionaries and practitioners.
  • National Urban Learning Platformis a platform for digitally consolidating key skills and knowledge required for capacity building, which is a constant requirement for effective governance and nurturing leadership at city, state and national level.
  • NIUA Climate Center for Cities (C3) has been setup to consolidate and institutionalize and mainstream the learnings from experiences in our cities on climate change.
  • NIUA Center for Digital Governance (CDG) isan initiative to take forward the digital efforts of MoHUA and become the anchor to accelerate digital transformation of urban governance across all States and Cities.
  • Video Launch: Outcomes of PMAY- U: showing the progress and achievements of PMAY-U, along with testimonials of beneficiaries of the Mission.
  • E-Book Launch: PMAY(U) - Khushiyon ka Aashiyana: showing the progress and achievements of PMAY-U, along with testimonials of beneficiaries of the Mission
  • Video Launch: Outcomes of AMRUT: showing the progress and achievements of AMRUT, along with testimonials of beneficiaries of the Mission.
  • Book Launch: COVID Diaries: is a collection of personal reflections / opinion articles from members of Smart Cities Mission team as they navigate changes in their daily lives and work routines during COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Book Launch: The Smart Responses to COVID-19: How Indian Cities are fighting through Action and Innovation (Volume-1) compendium is an attempt to showcase how urban India has responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
  • City Finance Portal: First time effort of getting financial Statements of all cities on single platform to enable sharing and learning of best practices and to help ULBs in accessing market funds.
  • Cycles4Change Challenge: India Cycles4change Challenge is an initiative of Smart Cities Missionto inspire and support Indian cities to quickly implement cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19. The idea is to begin by creating low-cost interventions like pop-up cycle lanes and non-motorized zones, launch programs such as community-led cycle rental schemes and promote cycling usage through public events.

In order to test the dynamic knowledge of the candidate, UPSC and other Government  Exams will have questions regarding the various schemes overseen by the Government of India. So the candidate is required to know about these schemes. More government schemes here