Central Flagship Welfare Schemes
Welfare schemes are the practical face of the government's social policy, and questions on them appear regularly in general studies papers. The central flagship schemes cover employment, food security, housing, health, sanitation, financial inclusion, skill development and the welfare of women and children. Most of these schemes are demand-driven, involve direct benefit transfer, and are implemented in partnership with the states. This topic rewards precise memory of names, launch years, benefit amounts and target groups, and these notes organise the most frequently asked schemes in a form that is easy to revise.
Rural employment and food security
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed in 2005 and provides at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It is demand-driven, which means employment must be provided when it is asked for, and it creates durable rural assets such as roads, ponds and check dams. The National Food Security Act of 2013 gives a legal right to subsidised foodgrains, entitling priority households to five kilograms of foodgrains per person per month at highly subsidised prices, and it covers about two-thirds of the population. Together these two laws represent the right to work and the right to food.
Income support and housing
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, launched in 2019, provides income support of six thousand rupees a year to eligible farmer families, paid in three equal instalments of two thousand rupees directly into their bank accounts, and it was initially meant for small and marginal farmers. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, launched in 2015, aims to provide a pucca house with basic amenities to every eligible family. It has an urban component and a rural component, called the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), and it offers interest subsidy on housing loans for the economically weaker sections and lower income groups.
Health, nutrition and sanitation
Ayushman Bharat, launched in 2018, is built on two pillars: the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which gives health cover of five lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation, and the network of health and wellness centres. The beneficiaries are identified on the basis of deprivation and occupational criteria from the socio-economic census. The Poshan Abhiyaan, launched in 2018, is the national nutrition mission that works to reduce malnutrition, stunting and anaemia among children, adolescent girls and women. The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2 October 2014 with urban and rural components, the urban component being administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and its objective was to achieve an open defecation free country through the construction of household and community toilets.
Women and child development
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in 2016, provides free cooking gas connections to women from below poverty line households, so that they can cook in a smoke-free environment and are spared the health hazards of traditional fuels. The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana gives cash assistance to pregnant and lactating mothers to compensate for wage loss and to encourage proper nutrition and institutional delivery. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, launched in 2015, aims to prevent gender-biased sex selection, to ensure the survival and protection of the girl child and to promote her education. The scheme is implemented through coordinated action in selected districts with low child sex ratios.
Skill development and employment generation
The Skill India Mission was launched in 2015 to train a large number of young people in market-relevant skills and to improve their employability. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is its flagship skill certification scheme. The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana focuses on rural youth and provides placement-linked skill training, and Mission Indradhanush works to ensure full immunisation of children and pregnant women. The Shram Suvidha portal is a single-window web platform for labour law compliance and for the registration of establishments, and the Start-Up India initiative and the Stand-Up India scheme together support new enterprise creation, with Stand-Up India providing bank loans to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and women entrepreneurs.
Financial inclusion schemes
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched in 2014, is the national mission for financial inclusion and provides a basic savings bank account with no minimum balance requirement, together with accident insurance and an overdraft facility, and it carries the RuPay card. The scheme has brought crores of unbanked households into the formal banking system and forms one leg of the JAM trinity of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile numbers, which enables direct benefit transfer and reduces leakages. Welfare schemes in India increasingly use this architecture to send benefits directly to the accounts of beneficiaries.
Key facts at a glance
- MGNREGA was enacted in 2005 and guarantees 100 days of employment per rural household.
- PM-KISAN was launched in 2019 and gives Rs 6,000 a year in three instalments.
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was launched in 2015 for housing for all.
- Ayushman Bharat PMJAY was launched in 2018 with cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year.
- PM Ujjwala Yojana was launched in 2016 to give free LPG connections to women.
- PM Jan Dhan Yojana was launched in 2014 with zero balance accounts and RuPay cards.
- PM Matru Vandana Yojana gives cash assistance to pregnant and lactating mothers.
- Poshan Abhiyaan was launched in 2018 as the national nutrition mission.
- Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2 October 2014.
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched in 2015.
- Skill India Mission was launched on 15 July 2015.
- Start-Up India was launched in 2016 and Stand-Up India in 2016.
- The National Food Security Act was enacted in 2013; entitlement is 5 kg per person per month.
- DDU-GKY provides placement-linked skill training to rural youth.
Quick revision points
- MGNREGA is demand-driven; work must be given when demanded.
- PM-KISAN money is transferred directly to bank accounts in instalments.
- Ayushman Bharat has two pillars: PMJAY and health and wellness centres.
- Ujjwala is about clean cooking fuel; Swachh Bharat is about sanitation.
- Jan Dhan accounts are zero balance accounts with a RuPay card.
- Skill India and PMKVY are connected; DDU-GKY is for rural youth.
How to prepare this topic
- Group the schemes by theme: employment, food, housing, health, women, skills and finance.
- Memorise the launch year and the headline benefit of each scheme.
- Match each scheme with its target group, such as farmers, women or rural youth.
- Remember the two schemes that carry a legal right, namely MGNREGA and the food security law.
- Note the departments and ministries that implement each scheme.
- Revise the important dates, such as 2 October 2014 and 15 July 2015.
Common exam traps
- Confusing the MGNREGA year of enactment with its year of implementation.
- Mixing up the amounts under PM-KISAN and Ayushman Bharat.
- Thinking PM Awas Yojana has only an urban component; there is a rural component too.
- Attributing Swachh Bharat to the Ministry of Health instead of Housing and Urban Affairs for the urban part.
- Confusing Ujjwala, which gives LPG connections, with a sanitation scheme.
- Mixing up Stand-Up India and Start-Up India, and their beneficiary groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MGNREGA and what is its main guarantee?
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was enacted in 2005. It guarantees at least one hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work. It is a demand-driven scheme, so the work has to be provided when it is demanded, and it also creates durable rural assets such as roads, ponds and check dams.
What are the benefits under PM-KISAN and Ayushman Bharat?
PM-KISAN, launched in 2019, provides income support of six thousand rupees a year to eligible farmer families, paid in three instalments of two thousand rupees directly into bank accounts. Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, launched in 2018, provides health cover of five lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation to poor and vulnerable families identified from the socio-economic census.
What is the Swachh Bharat Mission and when was it launched?
The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2 October 2014 to make the country open defecation free and to improve solid and liquid waste management. It has two components, urban and rural. The urban component is administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and the mission works through the construction of household and community toilets along with awareness campaigns.
What is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana?
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched in 2014, is the national mission for financial inclusion. It provides a basic savings bank account with no minimum balance requirement, along with a RuPay debit card, accident insurance and an overdraft facility. It has brought a large number of unbanked households into the formal banking system and supports direct benefit transfer.
What are the main skill development schemes of the central government?
The Skill India Mission, launched in 2015, is the umbrella programme for skilling, and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is its flagship certification scheme. The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana provides placement-linked skill training to rural youth. Mission Indradhanush, though a health scheme, also relies on outreach and awareness, while the Shram Suvidha portal simplifies labour law compliance for employers and workers.