Budget Highlights - Rural Development
- Aam Aadmi is the focus of all UPA's schemes
- Mandate for inclusive growth
- National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Allocation hiked by 144% to Rs.39,100 crore
- NREGA provided employment opportunities to more than 4.479 crore households in 2008-09
- Rs. 100 per day as entitlement under NREGA
- Pilot Project to be taken up in 115 districts by converging NREGA with other schemes
- Bharat Nirman allocation hiked by 45%
- Indira Awaas Yojna allocation up by 63% to Rs 8,883 crore
- Rs 2,000 crore for rural housing fund under National Housing Bank
- Rs 100 crore one-time grant to expand banks in unbanking areas
- PM Gram Sadak Yojna hiked up by 59 per cent to Rs.12,000crore.
- PM Grameen Adarsh Yojna on pilot basis in 100 villages with SC/ST population.
- Swarna Jayanti Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY) now as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to make it universal, more focussed and time bound for poverty alleviation by 2014
- Target to enrol 50% cent of rural women in self-help groups over the next five years
- Rural mega clusters in Bengal and Rajasthan
- Incentives in interest rates to farmers to pay back
- Interest subsidy for home loans up to Rs 1 lakh
- Work on National Food Security scheme for subsidised food
- Govt to shift to nutrient based fertiliser subsidy regime
- Fertiliser subsidy to go directly to farmers
- Incentives in interest rates to farmers to pay back
- Target for agriculture credit raised to Rs 3,25,000 cr in 2009-10
- Additional budget allocation to farmers
- Allocation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna stepped up by 30%
- Banking network to be expanded
- One banking centre in every bloc.