Indian Government Initiatives

Swachh Bharat Mission is a campaign by the Government of India to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country. This mission was started on 2nd October 2014.

The Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, launched the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme on 21st January 2015, with a focus on holistic development of heritage cities. The scheme aims to preserve and revitalise soul of the heritage city to reflect the city's unique character by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative & secured environment.

Urban Transport Wing of Ministry of Urban Development is the nodal division for coordination, appraisal and approval of Urban Transport matters including Metro Rail Projects at the central level. All the interventions in the urban transport by the Ministry of Urban Development such as Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), urban transit infrastructure or financing of metro rail projects etc, are carried out as per the provisions of National Urban Transport Policy, 2006. It also deals in proposals that encourage innovative financing mechanisms in the transport sector and organizes annual conference and exhibition on urban transport for knowledge sharing amongst experts and stakeholders.

The Smart City Mission is an innovative and new initiative by the Government of India to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens. In the approach to the Smart Cities Mission, the objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of 'Smart' Solutions. The focus is on the sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.

The Government of India has launched the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) with the aim of providing basic civic amenities like water supply, sewerage, urban transport, parks as to improve the quality of life for all especially the poor and the disadvantaged. The focus of the Mission is on infrastructure creation that has a direct link to the provision of better services to the citizens. The Mission covers 500 cities that include all cities and towns with a population of over one lakh with notified Municipalities.

The Ganga action plan was, launched by Shri Rajeev Gandhi, the Prime Minister on 14 Jan. 1986 with the main objective of pollution abatement, to improve the water quality by interception, diversion and treatment of domestic sewage and present toxic and industrial chemical wastes from identified grossly polluting units entering into the river.

Operation Flood was a rural development programme started by India's National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1970. One of the largest of its kind, the programme objective was to create a nationwide milk grid.

It resulted in making India one of the largest producers of milk and milk products and hence is also called the White Revolution of India. It also helped reduce malpractices by milk traders and merchants.

The programme envisages accelerating production of fodder through promotion of integrated technologies and processes for enhancing the availability of fodder throughout the year-a multi-pronged strategy to achieve the stated objectives. 

Among landless rural labourers though the facilities like electricity and water, education to children is important but the primary goal would become to have more days of work with better wages

A new scheme named as “Suvarna Krishi Grama Yojana” or “Golden Agriculture Village Scheme” has been launched by the state Government of Karnataka with an aim to increase farmers income by 20% in one year. The scheme has been launched along with International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Program was initiated under the same act. The purpose of this is to provide 100 days guaranteed employment within a year to every rural household. Only condition is that adults from these households should volunteer for unskilled labour work. Initially introduced in 2005, this act was amended in 2007 and renamed as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. 

Women self-help groups have been brought into existence to bring together poor rural women and make them financially independent.

Both Self Help Groups and Panchayati Raj institutions are key mechanisms for decentralization and community engagement in Indian development programs. By involving these local bodies, the government ensures that planning and implementation are more inclusive and responsive to local needs.

The Rangarajan Committee recommended the National Rural Financial Inclusion Plan (NRFIP) and the creation of two specific funds (FIPF and FITF) under NABARD to promote financial inclusion. Option C is incorrect as the committee did not recommend shifting direct control of all rural bank branches to NABARD.

TRYSEM stands for ‘Training Rural Youth for Self-Employment’. It is a national scheme launched in the year 1979. The main objective of this policy is to train youth in the age group for 18-35 to develop the technical skill of people under poverty line.