PM Awas Yojana to build over 29.5 mn rural homes by March

The government led by Narendra Modi would have completed the construction of over 37 million rural houses by March. This surpasses the approximately 32 million houses constructed over 29 years under the former Indira Awas Yojana, highlighting the government's emphasis on rural development. According to the official, under the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin), the Modi government aims to finish the construction of 29.5 million houses by March, ensuring that every rural family has their own home. Additionally, the NDA government had built 7.6 million houses under the Indira Awas Yojana between 2014 and 2016, as mentioned by the source who preferred to remain anonymous. The PMAY (Gramin) was launched in November 2016, replacing the earlier Indira Awas Yojana. The scheme involves the Centre covering 60% of the construction cost in most states, with state governments contributing the remainder. However, in north-eastern and hilly states, the Centre's contribution increases to 90%, and in Union territories, it reaches 100%. Regarding women's economic participation, the rural development ministry plans to enhance the involvement of women through self-help groups (SHGs), according to the same source. The goal is to increase the number of women earning over Rs 0.1 million per year from the current 10 million to 30 million in the coming years. The ministry intends to implement measures that support women in achieving sustainable livelihoods. The source also mentioned that the number of government-backed SHGs has surpassed nine million, compared to just 2.13 million in 2013-14. Additionally, the number of village organisations has risen from 88,105 in 2013-14 to 502,660.