Rural Development & Sanitation Schemes

DAY-NRLM is a Ministry of Rural Development mission that organises rural poor women into self-help groups and gives each group a revolving fund of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000, community investment funds up to Rs 2.50 lakh and bank loans at an effective 7% interest on up to Rs 3 lakh. Join through the self-help group in your village.

Jal Jeevan Mission provides every rural household in India with a Functional Household Tap Connection supplying at least 55 litres of safe drinking water per person per day. Extended to December 2028 with an outlay of Rs 8.69 lakh crore, it targets all 19.36 crore rural households. Apply through your Gram Panchayat or Village Water and Sanitation Committee.

MGNREGA guaranteed 100 days of unskilled wage work a year to every rural household that demanded it. The Ministry of Rural Development repealed the 2005 Act on 1 July 2026, replacing it with the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, which raises the statutory guarantee to 125 days per financial year and keeps the same job card and 15-day work-demand system.

PMGSY is a Ministry of Rural Development programme that builds all-weather roads to unconnected rural habitations. PMGSY-IV, approved for 2024-25 to 2028-29 with an outlay of Rs 70,125 crore, funds 62,500 km of new roads to connect 25,000 habitations. Villages are selected by government survey, not by individual application.

Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen pays an incentive of Rs 12,000 to eligible rural households to build an individual household latrine, and funds solid and liquid waste management to turn villages ODF Plus. Phase II runs from 2020-21 to 2026-27 with an outlay of Rs 1.40 lakh crore, shared 60:40 with most states.

DDU-GKY is the Ministry of Rural Development's free, placement-linked skill training scheme for poor rural youth aged 15 to 35 years, with the upper limit relaxed to 45 for special groups. DDU-GKY courses run 3 to 12 months and training partners must place a minimum share of trained candidates in wage jobs. Register free on the Kaushal Panjee portal.

GOBARdhan is a Government of India initiative that converts cattle dung, crop residue and other organic waste into biogas, compressed biogas and organic manure. Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II, states get up to Rs 50 lakh per district for community biogas plants. Plant operators register on the GOBARdhan unified portal launched on 1 June 2023.

NSAP is the Ministry of Rural Development's social security scheme for below-poverty-line households, running five components. NSAP pays Rs 200 a month to old-age pensioners aged 60 to 79, Rs 500 from age 80, Rs 300 each to eligible widows and persons with severe disability, and Rs 20,000 as one-time family benefit. Apply at your Gram Panchayat or municipality.

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj that strengthens Panchayati Raj Institutions, mainly through capacity building and training of elected representatives. The revamped scheme runs 2022-23 to 2025-26 with a Rs 5,911 crore outlay. It funds panchayats and states, not individuals.

Mission Antyodaya is a convergence and accountability framework of the Ministry of Rural Development, announced in Union Budget 2017-18, that runs an annual survey of every Gram Panchayat on 21 devolved sectors and scores each Panchayat out of 100. Mission Antyodaya pays no money to individuals; the data is published free at missionantyodaya.dord.gov.in.

Swachhata Green Leaf Rating is a sanitation rating for tourist accommodation, launched on 2 November 2023 by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation with the Ministry of Tourism. Hotels, homestays, lodges and dharamshalas self-assess on 200 marks and are awarded 1, 3 or 5 green leaves after verification by district committees. There is no cash benefit.

Swachhata Hi Seva is the annual national cleanliness campaign run jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, held from 17 September to 2 October. Swachhata Hi Seva 2025 ran on the theme Swachhotsav across 5 pillars. Citizens join free by registering activities at swachhatahiseva.gov.in.

Swachhta Udyami Yojana is an NSKFDC loan scheme that funds mechanised sanitation enterprises for Safai Karamcharis and liberated manual scavengers. Individuals can borrow for projects up to Rs 15 lakh and groups up to Rs 50 lakh at 6% interest, repayable in 7 years. Apply through a State Channelising Agency or partner bank, not directly online.