Sunday, 13 Oct, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
After assuming the office of Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi launched a number of schemes within the first two years of his government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 72 today and he is all set to celebrate his birthday by beginning with the launch of the ‘reintroduction of cheetah program’ in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park after which he will be participating in the Self Help Group (SHG) Sammelan with woman SHG members at Karahal, Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh. Today at Vigyan Bhawan, Modi is also going to launch the National Logistic Policy. The logistic policy seeks to reduce logistic costs while enhancing the competitiveness of domestic products in the international market. The BJP's "unity in diversity" festivals, which will be held in "all districts," are also set to begin today. The "seva" campaign, beginning today on the occasion of PM's birthday will last for two weeks, and will end on October 2, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth.
After assuming the office of Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi launched a number of schemes within the first two years of his government. Some of the major schemes were the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Mudra Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Start-up India and the Ujjwala scheme. Among these, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), Ujjwala Scheme and the Jan Dhan Yojana are considered close to the PM. India Tracker takes a look at these three schemes and how they have fared in the last few years.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
The scheme was launched in the year 2016 by PM Modi with an aim of reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel and the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel which causes respiratory illness and results in major respiratory diseases. This was aimed to be achieved by providing LPG gas connections to the poor households.
The data shows that the number of LPG refills by the PMUY customers peaked in the year 2018-19 as around 3 crore PMUY customers refilled the LPG gas cylinder but later witnessed a downward trend. The lowest number of refills was recorded in the year 2020-21. This was largely due to the covid-19 pandemic when getting a LPG cylinder was difficult due to the nationwide lockdowns imposed by the government to contain the spread of the corona virus. 2021-22 showed an upward trend as around one crore customers refilled their LPG gas cylinders. The recent hikes in the price of gas cylinder is cause of worry because if the prices continue to rise, there is a fear of beneficiaries going back to using unclean fuels for cooking.
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U)
PMAY-U is the flagship mission of the Government of India being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and urban Affairs (MoHUA). The Mission addresses urban housing shortage among the Economic weaker sections/ Lower income categories and Middle income categories including the slum dwellers by ensuring a Pucca house to all eligible urban households by 2022. The government data revealed that out of the sanctioned 122.69 lakh houses, 103.6 lakh have been grounded for construction out of which only 62.55 have been delivered to the beneficiaries. This shows that the PMAY-U has a completion rate of just 50%. In order to achieve the target, the government has extended the scheme till December 2024.
Source: Press Information Bureau
The chart shows that the central assistance provided to the states has been highly utilized by the states but the case is not as it seems as the states have not utilized the funds provided by the centre in that particular financial year but over the years. The reality reflects that there has been under-utilization of funds by the states in the construction of houses and this has been one of the major reasons in less construction of houses against the sanctioned strength. Apart from financial issues, lack of clear titles and incomplete documentation has led to incompletion of the targets under the scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
PMJDY was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on 15th August 2014. While launching the programme, the Prime Minister had described the occasion as a festival to celebrate the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle. Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, and Pension in an affordable manner.
Source: Ministry of Finance
PMJDY Accounts have grown around three-fold from 17.9 crore in August 15 to 46.25 crore as on 10th August 2022. The PMJDY was scheduled to end in August 2018 but taking in to consideration the progress made under the scheme and financial inclusion of the marginalized and upliftment of the vulnerable sections of the society like women living in rural areas, the government decided to extend the scheme further with some modifications.
