A Brief About Integrated Rural Development Program (1978)
Post Independence, Indian Govt. had launched various development and welfare schemes to cater to different issues. Schemes like Family Planning and Health Problems were launched by the Govt. to deal with the issues related to all sections of the society. But the effects of all these schemes were not widespread and got limited. The main reason for these limitations was identified as the diversified nature of Indian society. The results of the earlier schemes had their own share of achievements but still were unable to make an impact as a whole.
It was these drawbacks that made the Govt. realize that to pull out poverty from its roots, an integrated and comprehensive development program is required. This is where the scheme of Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP) came into existence.
What is Integrated Rural development Program?
Integrated Rural Development Program or IRDP is a rural scheme launched by the Govt. of India in 1978 and implemented in 1980. The goal is to raise the living standards in the rural area by providing employment and skill development training to the poor. The target group consists of rural artisans, small and marginal farmers and agricultural laborers below poverty line. IRDP in totality is a self-employment program to alleviate poverty in rural areas.
What are the objectives of the program?
As mentioned earlier, IRDP focuses on bringing the level of poor rural areas above poverty line. The other objectives of IRDP are:
- To provide sustainable employment to the rural population in order to elevate their living conditions.
- To increase production of agriculture and small scale rural industries.
These objectives are carried out by providing productive assets from primary, secondary or tertiary sectors, to this population. Financial assistance is provided to these people in form of govt. subsidiaries or loans and credits from various financial institutions.
Who are the beneficiaries under IRDP?
IRDP targets all the rural sections of the block which are affected by the poverty. But its beneficiaries can be widely classified under following categories.
- Agricultural Laborers
- Rural Artisans
- Small and marginal farmers
- Scheduled tribes and castes
- Economically backward sections with annual income below Rs. 11,000
What are the subsidies provided under IRDP?
The target group is provided govt. subsidies and loans or credits as financial assistance. These financial assets are provided by various govt. authorized financial institutions. The subsidies are divided as per the target group and its requirements. The distribution is done as per the following norms:
- The first target group of small farmers receive subsidy of 25% by financial institutions.
- The second target group of rural artisans, marginal farmers and agricultural laborers get 33.5% as subsidy
- Lastly, the SC/ST and physically challenged group gets 50% as subsidy from these financial institutions.
The limit for subsidies to SC/ST and differently abled group has been fixed Rs.6000. Rs.4000 has been fixed for non DPAP and non DDP localities and Rs.5000 for DPAP and DDP localities.
SC/ST, women and differently abled fall under guaranteed subsidies of 50%, 40% and 3% respectively. Priority is always given to groups with limit surplus and Green Card holders under free bonded laborers and family welfare programmes.
How is IRDP implemented?
IRDP revolves around the overall development of a rural area. Hence, to reach to every minute level, various agencies and institutions are involved in the implementation process. The implementation process of IRDP is an extensive activity.
The agencies involved in IRDP implementation are:
- Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment – They prepare policies and sanction funds for IRDP functioning. They even are the central body in evaluation, monitoring and guidance activity of IRDP.
- State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) – SLCCs regulate the policies and funds related to IRDP at state level. They modulate for IRDP as per their state requirements.
- District Rural Development Agencies (DRDA) – DRDAs are the fund regulators at district levels. They primarily release funds to various rural developmental programmes. They even maintain the records of the funds released.
- Block Staff – They are the grassroots level govt. officials who work at direct front of the rural areas. They are the distributors and educators of IRDP at root level.
How is the Funding to IRDP regulated?
IRDP is a Central Govt. scheme and is funded on 50:50 basis by centre and state governments. The Central Govt. allocates funds to the state on the basis of poor rural population in the state to the total poor rural population in the country. This procedure is uniform across all states in India and has been going on since 1980.
Productive financial assets and subsidies are provided by various cooperatives, commercial banks and regional rural banks.
What is the procedure of functioning of IRDP compared to other schemes?
Other plans like Housing Scheme were usually started in few blocks and then additions were made every year. This resulted in non-uniformity of execution of plans and thus insignificant results. But IRDP on implementation in 1980 covered each and every block of the country. It made things uniform in working and result generation.
This uniformity resulted in better identification of various sections of the society in need of help. A proper division of target groups ensured microscopic effect of the various rural development plans under IRDP. A more integrated approach was taken to deal with their issues on pan-India level.
The scheme starts operating with the selection of a poor family. Then an appropriate tentative plan is sketched with the consultation of the family. The resources are collected in 2/3rds by cooperative and commercial banks. Then the plan is given to SLCC of state govt. for approval under IRDP. On approval, a three member committee is formed that prepare plans for each block. This committee maintains integrity between all plans across each block.
Limitations of IRDP
- By considering a village as a homogenous concept, more economically efficient bases are ignored for IRDP
- Non-uniform distribution of assets lead to less profitable units
The main purpose of launching IRDP was to ensure inclusive development of all sectors of the rural society. When all other govt. schemes were being restricted due to some issues, IRDP came as a fresh breeze of air. It gave new hopes and opened up new opportunities for rural development. Since 1980, various schemes have been launched under IRDP and all have been successful due to its inclusive and integrated structure.
