VB-G RAM G national launch to begin from Andhra Pradesh on July 1: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
New Delhi, June 16
Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that the national launch of the 'Viksit Bharat - Rozgar aur Aajeevika Mission' will take place from Andhra Pradesh on July 1.
The announcement was made during a meeting with Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi, where the two leaders reviewed the implementation of rural development programmes, employment generation initiatives, livelihood enhancement schemes and panchayat development projects in the state.
Chouhan said that Rural Development Ministers from all states and Union Territories would participate in the launch programme through video conferencing from various field locations across the country.
"The event would showcase Andhra Pradesh's successful models in rural governance, including its Gram Panchayat Development Plan, model panchayats and zero-waste gram panchayats," Chouhan stated.
Praising Andhra Pradesh's development efforts, the Union Minister described the state as one of the most progressive in the country and said it has earned a reputation for taking swift decisions on development-related matters.
He encouraged the state to continue innovating in rural development and said its successful models would be shared with other states as examples of best practices.
During the meeting, Kalyan briefed the Union Minister on the progress of various rural development schemes in Andhra Pradesh.
He said all projects under rural development programmes have been geo-tagged to ensure transparency and prevent corruption.
He also informed that work on a face recognition-based beneficiary verification system is nearing completion.
The Deputy Chief Minister said construction of rural roads and houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) is progressing rapidly across the state.
He added that drinking water facilities for livestock have been established in every panchayat, benefiting rural livestock rearers and strengthening livelihood opportunities.
Kalyan thanked the Centre and the Ministry of Rural Development for providing an interim allocation of more than Rs 7,700 crore to Andhra Pradesh under the VB-G RAM G initiative.
He said the funds would help accelerate rural development projects and improve infrastructure in villages.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Finally, our state is getting some attention! Pawan Kalyan ji is really pushing for development in rural areas. The zero-waste gram panchayats model is something we should all learn from. But I have one concern - will this Rs 7,700 crore actually reach the last mile? Corruption in rural development projects is a big issue. Hope the scrutiny systems work this time. 🤞
This sounds like a well-structured program. Having worked in rural development in other countries, I appreciate the emphasis on transparency through geo-tagging. The face recognition system for beneficiary verification is particularly interesting - we used similar tech in Kenya and it reduced fraud significantly. Let's see if India can adapt it effectively at scale. Water for livestock in every panchayat is a basic need but often overlooked. Good first step.
Vikas Bharat mission sounds good but I wish the name was simpler for rural folks to understand. Many villagers don't even know what "Rozgar" means in Hindi, let alone "Aajeevika". We need to communicate these schemes in local languages properly. Also, instead of just showcasing AP models, why not learn from states like Kerala or Himachal which have better rural development indices? Selective praise seems political.
Interesting to see the focus on Andhra Pradesh. I'm curious how the zero-waste gram panchayats model works in practice. In my experience in Australia, waste management in rural areas is one of the hardest problems to solve. The Rs 7,700 crore allocation seems substantial - hope it's matched with good monitoring mechanisms. Would be great to see some independent evaluation of these programs after a year.
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