NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, in a sudden move, addressing the nation on last weekend, on the radio and the television, announced massive social welfare package of over Rs 3000 crore including a midday meal scheme for the primary school children on Saturday, The schemes will be implemented from the Independence Day.
It was clearly an attempt by the Government to send the message across 10 the people that it was not forgetting the poor and the backward in its eagerness to have economic liberalization in the country. With barely six months to go for the general elections, the announcement of the Prime Minister is seen as a campaign speech. He is likely to announce some more schemes on the Independence Day. Different schemes involving the unorganized sector include, besides a Rs 2085 crore midday meal scheme and the three components under the National Social Assistance Scheme (NSAS) worth Rs 867.14 crore Old age pension, family benefits in case of death of the bread earner and maternity benefits, The Prime Minister also announced the Rural Group Life Insurance Scheme. This is the first time that the Center has taken upon itself 10 implement these schemes, which were approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday.
The announcements made by the Prime Minister are also interpreted as the ruling party’s attempt to win back its traditional constituency the poor.
Rao and other leaders have been at pains to explain to the party workers and those who are attending the training session at Surajkund that the Government is committed to improve the Jot of the poor and the unorganized sector, the economic liberalization and entry of multinationals in various economic activities notwithstanding. The midday meal scheme under the National Program of Nutrition Support.
To Primary Education will cover 11 crore children in class I to V on more than five lakh Government, local body and private aided primary schools over a period of three years. Referring to the scheme implemented by many states and later dropped due to various constraints, the Prime Minister said the Center has decided to involve’ itself so that these problems were re~ moved. He said there was no shortage’ of food grains and with 30 million tuns, of stocks, it should not be difficult to.
spare 10 to 15 million tuns for the children. The Center would bear the expenses of; transporting food grains from the Food Corporation of India god owns to villages. The village bodies had been asked to take care of the.
Preparation and distribution of meals, Money would be provided from the funds allocated to the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY).
He said the scheme was expected to boost primary education program through improved school attendance, reduced dropout cases besides providing nutrition to the children. Where cooked food was not available, food grains at the rate of three kilograms per child per month would be made available if the child’s attendance was 80%.
The components under the NSAS, which is the national policy for social assistance to poor households, will also have a bigger role for panchayats and nagapalikas in the implementation.
Under the old age pension scheme, the poor and destitute people aged 65 years and above, with no means of subsistence will get Rs 75 per month.
The Family Benefit Scheme provides for a lump sum assistance of Rs5,6000 in case of death of the primary bread earner of a family living below the poverty line due to natural causes and Rs 10,000 in case of death due to accidents.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 4, 1995
