Mission Antyodaya’ should not fall by the wayside

The ‘Mission Antyodaya’ project of the Government of India launched in 2017­18 (and cast in a convergence framework avowedly to eradicate poverty in its multiple dimensions among rural households) bears great promise to revive the objectives of these great democratic reforms. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Rural Development act as the nodal agents to take the mission forward.

Key goal

1. Objective- The main objective of ‘Mission Antyodaya’ is to ensure optimum use of resources through the convergence of various schemes that address multiple deprivations of poverty, making gram panchayat the hub of a development plan.
2. Annual survey- This planning process (whose intellectual heritage is traced to the people’s plan of Kerala) is supported by an annual survey that helps to assess the various development gaps at the gram panchayat level.
3. Economic development- If pursued in a genuine manner, this can foster economic development and inter­jurisdictional equity.