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Hyderabad, Aug. 10 With drought-like situation prevailing in most parts of the country, the Union Government is fine-tuning a special policy initiative within the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

“We are going to announce a big scheme in a week,” Mr Sisir Kumar Adhikari, Union Minister of State for Rural Development, said.

Talking to newspersons on Monday on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony at the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) here, the Minister said the initiative would include creation of a new mechanism to reach out effectively to the beneficiaries.

He, however, did not elaborate on the salient features of the upcoming initiative.

“We are planning to provide power and diesel on subsidy to farmers in areas that are impacted by shortfall of rain,” he said when asked what measures the Ministry was taking to help farmers facing drought.

Earlier, addressing the convocation of the first batch of students in PG Diploma in Rural Development Management, he said the country could reduce the number of poor to 27.4 per cent in 2008 as against 54.9 per cent in 1973. “But it still reflects that one-fourth of the population is still poor,” he said.

More Stories on : Rural Development | Natural Calamities | Andhra Pradesh

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