Adopted in Union Budget 2017-18, Mission Antyodaya is a convergence and accountability framework aiming to bring optimum use and management of resources allocated by 27 Ministries/ Department of the Government of India under various programmes for the development of rural areas. It is envisaged as state-led initiative with Gram Panchayats as focal points of convergence efforts.

Annual survey in Gram Panchayats across the country is an important aspect of Mission Antyodaya framework. It is carried out coterminous with the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC) of Ministry of Panchayat Raj and its’ purpose is to lend support to the process of participatory planning for Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

Objectives

• The basic mission is to make the most efficient use of resources possible. It is accomplished by combining the resources of multiple plans. For example, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the National Rural Livelihood Mission, the National Social Assistance Program, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and others) can be combined to save administrative costs.
• The planning process was influenced by Kerala’s people’s plan. The goal of the mission is to make the gram panchayat the focal point of a development strategy.

Methodology

• At the gram panchayat level, an annual survey is done to analyse the major development gaps. The information is gathered for the 29 PRI topics.
• Economic growth and inter-jurisdictional equity can both benefit from an assessment-based strategy.
• From the village level to the state level and the country as a whole, the data allows for sectoral and geographic development planning.

Performance

• In 2019-20, the ‘Mission Antyodaya’ survey collected data on infrastructure inadequacies from 2.67 lakh gram panchayats, representing 6.48 lakh villages with a population of 1.03 billion people for the first time.
• The maximum score values awarded will total 100 and will be shown in 10-point class intervals.
• While no state in India receives a score of 90 or higher, 1,484 grampanchayats have a score of less than 90.
• Even in the 80-90 point range, 10 states and all union territories are absent.
• The overall number of gramme panchayats in the 18 states that have reported amounts to just 260, or 0.10 percent of the country’s total 2,67,466 gramme panchayats.
• If we take a score range of 70-80 as a reasonable accomplishment level, Kerala comes out on top, although it only has 34.69 percent of the state’s gram panchayats, while the national average is just 1.09 percent.
• The composite index data, which serves as a proxy for human growth, is similarly uninspiring. Despite the fact that just 15 gram panchayats in the country have scores below 10, more than a fifth of gram panchayats in India have scores below 40.
• Even after 30 years of decentralisation measures and nearly 75 years of independence, the gap report and composite index reveal unequivocally that achieving “economic progress and social fairness” remains a distant objective.

Way forward

• Rural-urban gaps in primary health care, literacy, drinking water availability, and other concerns should be addressed by the government.
• The information can be used to improve India’s fiscal federalism. It has the potential to enhance India’s sub-state transfer system and horizontal equity in the delivery of public goods.
• The constitutional aim of planning and executing economic growth and social justice in India may be achieved with robust policy interventions.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/mission-antyodaya-should-not-fall-by-the-wayside/article65357697.ece

How to structure:

1. Give an intro about Mission Antyodaya
2. Explain the objectives
3. Assess how it has tried to alleviate multi dimensional poverty- mention the areas where it has succeeded and its shortcomings
4. Suggest way forward
5. Conclude