In spite of the massive global slowdown caused by COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine War, India’s economy is set to grow at a whopping 7 percent, according to the just announced Union Budget 2023-24. But what does that mean for rural India?
India is now the world’s fifth largest economy. But so many of its people are still living a hand-to-mouth existence — and most of those people live in rural India. They are deeply dependent on government schemes, a major one which has been cut in this year’s budget.
But it’s not all bad news – this year’s budget brings highs and lows for India’s villagers.
In total Rs 1,57,545 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) under the Union Budget 2023-24, around 13 percent less than the revised estimate (a mid-year review of possible expenditure) for the fiscal year 2022-23. In the 2022-23 the Union Budget MoRD received Rs 1,35,944 crore.
While the allocation for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) remained the same as last year’s budget at Rs 19,000 crore, the allocation for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna – Rural (PMAY-R) has increased to Rs 54,487 crore, compared to Rs 48,422 crore in the revised estimates for 2022-23.
“The budget has catered to a wide range of issues pertaining to rural India. However, more impetus to programmes like MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) was needed. Overall the budget looks balanced, focusing on getting the economy back from the covid-induced stress, while also being futuristic,” said Shrish Kalyani of Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF).
Allocation for MGNREGS, the government’s flagship rural job guarantee scheme, has been slashed by one-third. Against the revised estimate of Rs 89,400 crore for last fiscal year, Rs 60,000 crore has been allocated. This is even 13,000 crore less compared to last year’s Union Budget allocation of Rs 73,000 crore.
The scheme provides a guaranteed 100 days of unskilled manual work employment in a year to at least one member of a household.
But even if headline figures of big initiatives are reduced, often funds can be sourced from a variety of schemes to support rural growth.
“Though the budget under MGNREGS is allocated as 60,000 Cr, which is less than that of FY 21-22 and FY 22-23, I think MGNREGA being a demand-driven scheme and based on the actual demand and priorities of the people in the rural areas, more budget may be provisioned in the supplementary budget to strengthen the rural economy and ecology,” said Saroj Mahapatra, Executive Director of PRADAN, to Village Square
According to the Economic Survey 2022-23 released on 31 January, the number of people demanding work under MGNREGS is back to the pre-pandemic levels from July to November 2022.
MGNREGS generated employment for 5.6 crore households and 225.8 crore person-days employment till Jan 6, 2023, the survey said. The work included creating household assets such as farm ponds, animal sheds, horticulture plantations and wells.
The total allocation for National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) under the 2023-24 budget has increased from Rs 13336 to Rs 14129 crore. NRLM is a poverty alleviation project implemented by the MoRD which focuses on promoting self-employment and the organization of rural poor.
“Increasing focus on NRLM is much appreciated as this would help in building more women collectives,” said Saroj Mahapatra.
The total budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, including Agricultural Education and Research, is about Rs 1.25 lakh crore. Out of this, provision of Rs 60,000 crore has been made for the government’s ambitious scheme – the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan).
Rs 23,000 crores has been allocated for the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme. Small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land, which account for 86 per cent of the total cultivators in India, are the main beneficiaries of KCC.
The Finance Minister announced that the Digital Public infrastructure for agriculture will be built to enable inclusive, farmer-centric solutions. This will enable better crop planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit, and insurance, help for crop estimation, market intelligence, and support for growth of agri-tech industry and start-ups.
The agriculture credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.
Another major Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas, which will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, increase productivity and profitability.
Computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore will be initiated under the budget.
Following a proposal by India, which aspires to become a major producer of millets, the United Nations has designated 2023 as the International Year of the Millet, after strong lobbying by India.
Harvesting and consuming more hardy millets could help in the challenges of the ever-growing global population and climate change. Besides being rich in nutrition, millets are also affordable and can help farmers increase their income.
“India is at the forefront of popularizing millets, whose consumption furthers nutrition, food security and welfare of farmers,” said the Finance Minister during her budget speech.
She also announced that the Indian Institute of Millet Research in Hyderabad will be transformed into a center of excellence.
“Covering 1 crore farmers under natural farming and bio resource centres is a welcome step. Similarly, there is strong focus on millets, this would help the small and marginal farmers in the rural areas,” said Saroj Mahapatra.
No allocation has been made for Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission against the revised estimate of Rs 988 crore. Rurban Mission aims to develop rural areas by provisioning economic, social and physical infrastructure facilities.
The Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide direct water supply in every household, received an increased allocation from Rs 60,000 crore to Rs 70,000 crore for the FY 2023-24.
Rs. 77,000 crore has been allocated for Swachh Bharat Mission – Rural, up from the Rs 60,000 crore under the revised estimate.
Lead image by Nimai Chandra Ghosh
