Integrated Rural Development Program

The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was one of India’s key early efforts to tackle rural poverty by enabling rural families to generate income, build assets and become self-reliant. Although the scheme has since been merged into newer programmes, its design and lessons remain important for understanding rural development policies. Below is a beginner-friendly explanation of IRDP’s features, objectives, eligibility and what it offered.

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What is IRDP

IRDP was launched in the late 1970s (1978) and implemented from about 1980 onward by the Government of India.Its aim was to provide self-employment opportunities to poor rural households by giving them productive assets (with subsidy + bank credit) so they could earn income and cross the poverty line.It was a centrally-sponsored scheme implemented via state machinery (District Rural Development Agencies, block-level offices etc).

Key Features & Objectives

A number of features and objectives made IRDP stand out:

• Asset creation for the rural poor: The scheme provided credit + subsidy to enable rural families to obtain income-generating assets like livestock, equipment, small business setup etc.
• Employment generation and income augmentation: The core goal was to uplift households below the poverty line by creating stable earning options rather than only daily wage work.
• Prioritisation of disadvantaged groups: Special focus on Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), women, physically handicapped and landless labourers. These groups often received higher subsidy rates.
• Integrated approach: Rather than isolated interventions, IRDP aimed to combine credit, training, infrastructure support, skill development and linkages with markets.
• Subsidy + bank credit model: Beneficiaries received subsidy from the government plus credit from financial institutions for setting up ventures, with the intent of self-employment rather than just relief.

Eligibility & Beneficiaries

Who could benefit from IRDP and what were the eligibility criteria?

Beneficiaries included:

• Rural families living below the poverty line (BPL).
• Specific groups such as small & marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, rural artisans, craft persons, SC/ST, landless labourers.
• Preference often given to women, disabled persons, tribal groups.

Eligibility criteria generally required:

• The applicant being from a rural area and belonging to a BPL household.
• Having a viable plan for self-employment in agriculture, allied activities or non-farm rural business.
• Not being defaulter of financial institution (in some state guidelines).
• In some cases age criteria (adult) and minimal asset/land holding limitations for eligibility.

Benefits Provided by the Scheme

Under IRDP, eligible rural poor were provided with various supports:

• Subsidies (the percentage depending on the category of beneficiary): for example small farmers may receive a 25% subsidy, marginal farmers/agri-labourers 33.5%, SC/ST & disabled 50%.
• Access to bank credit/term loans to set up income-generating units (e.g., dairy, poultry, small manufacturing, services) using the subsidy + credit model.
• Training and skill development to support the successful operation of ventures and improve productivity.
• Infrastructure support and other linkages (in some implementations) to ensure viability (e.g., inputs, markets).

The end-benefit intended: rural households increase their income, build assets, move above poverty line, and sustain their livelihood.

Implementation & Coverage

• The scheme was implemented via District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs), block-level staff and state coordination committees.
• Funds were shared between the Centre and States (commonly 50:50) though state-specific variations existed.
• Over its operational period the scheme covered millions of rural poor households (reports suggest 55 million persons covered) at significant cost.

Limitations & Evolution

Although IRDP was a major scheme, it faced several challenges:

• Inadequate size of assistance and subsidy in many cases limiting impact.
• Implementation issues: target leakage, asset sustainability problems, dependency on credit/market linkages.
• By 1999 it was merged into newer umbrella scheme Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) along with others, signalling its phase-out and evolution to newer models.

Why It’s Important

Understanding IRDP matters because:

• It reflects the shift in India’s rural development policy from relief-based to asset-creation and self-employment-oriented models.
• Many later schemes borrow from IRDP’s design (subsidy + credit + training) though with refinements.
• Its lessons (successes and limitations) influence current programmes aimed at rural livelihoods and poverty reduction.

Summary

IRDP was India’s major integrated scheme introduced to fight rural poverty by giving rural poor families the means (assets, credit, training) to generate self-employment and sustained income. It prioritized disadvantaged groups, combined subsidy + bank credit and worked via district-level machinery. While it has been superseded by newer schemes, its significance in India’s rural development story remains substantial.