E-Paper
Modi asks ministers to compile lists of central welfare schemes’ achievements
A group of ministers will be established to study these achievements and to then create a larger narrative, which would be taken to the people through a sustained awareness campaign, top functionaries said, asking not to be named.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed central ministries to compile lists of achievements of the government with regard to scheduled castes and tribes, youth, and women over the past seven and a half years, the tenure of the ruling dispensation, according to people aware of the matter.
A group of ministers will be established to study these achievements and to then create a larger narrative, which would be taken to the people through a sustained awareness campaign, top functionaries said, asking not to be named.
The development came a day before the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reaped rich electoral dividends from its welfare programmes that have, experts said, translated into a loyal voter base comprising millions of beneficiaries of central schemes.
At the end of a Cabinet meeting on March 9, the Prime Minister spoke about the new plan and told attending ministers that since their ministries were working for the marginalised sections of society, and a significant part of their annual budget was spent for these sections, they must compile their achievements and send them to the nodal ministries, according to a functionary who declined to be named.
The ministry of social justice and empowerment is the nodal ministry for welfare of scheduled castes, while the tribal affairs ministry handles matters related to scheduled tribes. There are dedicated ministries for women and child development, and youth and sports affairs.
Modi is said to have emphasised that all ministries contribute to the welfare of these sections.
For example, the Ujjwala scheme to provide subsidised cooking gas cylinders to disadvantaged sections is managed by the petroleum ministry, and benefits women and poor households. Many other ministries use a sizeable section of their budget to cater to young people, be it providing employment under rural jobs guarantee scheme or creating Jan Dhan bank accounts for financial inclusion.
Similarly, the funds to build houses for the homeless under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are made available only to women. Another popular programme is the Saubhagya rural electrification scheme that has managed to provide power connections to millions of poor rural and urban households.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the central government provided free ration to the poor and migrant workers and extended financial support to women’s self-help groups and small businesses to sustain them during the outbreak that disrupted economic activity.
“Uttarakhand is a classic example how welfare programme can influence voters,” said the second functionary, underlining the political depth of public schemes. “Not only the government is successfully implementing a bunch of welfare schemes, but most of the direct beneficiaries are women. Ujjwala connection or PMAY houses are given to women only.”
The BJP retained power in the Himalayan state by winning 47 out of 70 seats in the state assembly.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP, whose government had pumped in more money in welfare measures and expanded such schemes, started reaching out to beneficiaries of central government programmes.
“Now, after so many years of running these schemes, the government has realised that a critical mass of beneficiaries has been reached and more political outreach is required,” said a third functionary, asking not to be named.
Central ministers will be asked to travel across the country after the achievements are turned into a greater narrative to build a sustained awareness campaign, the Prime Minister is said to have indicated.
