2.63 crore houses constructed for poor in last nine years in rural areas

New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2024 by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament highlighted that the Indian government has constructed 2.63 crore houses for the poor in rural belts over the last 9 years.

The survey reports that 11.57 crore toilets were constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission- Grameen and 11.7 crore households provided with tap water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission as of 10th July 2024. In the PM-AWAS-Gramin, 2.63 crore houses were constructed for the poor in the last nine years. 

Additionally, 35.7 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), leading to enhanced financial inclusion in rural areas.

In the health sector, 1.58 lakh sub centres and 24,935 primary health centers have resulted in enhanced quality of life in rural areas. To ensure the elimination of leakages in MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), geotagging before, during, and after work is being done, and 99.9 percent of payments are through the National Electronic Management System.

The survey also highlighted the evolution of MGNREGS into an asset creation programme for sustainable livelihood diversification, with the share of individual beneficiary works on individual land rising from 9.6 percent of total completed works in FY14 to 73.3 percent in FY24.

The government said that it has continued to support rural entrepreneurship through various schemes and programs, such as Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), Lakhpati Didi initiative, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).

Additionally, igitization initiatives like e-Gram SWARAJ, SVAMITVA Scheme, and Bhu-Aadhaar have improved rural governance, with drone surveys completed under the SVAMITVA Scheme and property cards prepared.