Major National Schemes and Policies

Having just covered the specific administrative and economic developments in Jammu and Kashmir, it is time to zoom out and look at the national picture.

When you read the daily news, government schemes can feel like an alphabet soup of acronyms—PM-JAY, PMFBY, PMAY, PMKSY. It is easy to get overwhelmed and try to rote-memorize them all. But if you take a step back, these schemes are simply the government's way of turning its promises into action. They are the machinery of the state.

To crack questions on this topic, you do not need to know every single scheme ever launched. You need to understand the flagship schemes—the massive, multi-crore initiatives that define the government's approach to health, agriculture, women's empowerment, and digital infrastructure.

In this chapter, we will break down the most important national schemes. We will look at why they were created, who they help, which ministry runs them, and the specific numbers the exam loves to test.

The Anatomy of a Government Scheme

Before we dive into specific schemes, you need to know how to "read" one. Whenever a new scheme is announced, examiners look for five specific data points to test you on. If you can identify these five things for every major scheme, you are safe.

1. 1The Nodal Ministry: Which department is actually running the show? (This is the most common trap. For example, a scheme about rural electrification might be run by the Ministry of Power, not Rural Development).
2. 2The Launch Year: When did it start?
3. 3The Target Beneficiary: Who exactly gets the money or the service? (e.g., "all farmers" vs. "only marginal farmers").
4. 4The Core Objective: What is the scheme trying to fix?
5. 5The Funding Pattern: Who is paying for it?

Now, let us explore the major schemes sector by sector.

Sector 1: Health and Nutrition

Healthcare in India has traditionally been an out-of-pocket expense, pushing millions into poverty every year due to sudden medical emergencies. The government's recent flagship schemes aim to provide a safety net and digitize health records.

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

Launched in September 2018, PM-JAY is the world's largest government-funded healthcare program.

Before PM-JAY, if a daily-wage earner needed a major heart surgery, they often had to sell their land or take ruinous loans from local moneylenders. PM-JAY was created to stop this. It provides a health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (implemented by the National Health Authority).
• Beneficiaries: Over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families (roughly 55 crore individuals). The beneficiaries were originally identified using the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.
• Key Feature: It is completely cashless and paperless at the hospital. It is also portable, meaning a beneficiary from Bihar can use their card to get treated in a hospital in Delhi or Jammu.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

While PM-JAY provides the money, ABDM provides the digital infrastructure. Launched in 2021, its goal is to create a seamless online platform for healthcare.

The core of this scheme is the ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) Number. It is a 14-digit randomly generated number that acts as your digital health identity. Instead of carrying thick files of old X-rays and prescriptions to a new doctor, your ABHA ID allows doctors to access your medical history digitally (with your consent).

PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman)

You likely know this by its old name: the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In 2021, it was revamped and renamed PM POSHAN.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Education.
• Objective: To improve the nutritional status of children studying in classes 1 to 8 in government and government-aided schools, while simultaneously encouraging poor families to send their children to school.
• New Addition: The revamped scheme now also covers students of Balvatikas (pre-primary classes) attached to government schools.

Sector 2: Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare

Agriculture employs nearly half of India's workforce. The government's focus has shifted from merely increasing crop production to directly increasing the farmer's income and providing a safety net against weather disasters.

PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi)

Launched in February 2019, this is a massive Central Sector Scheme (100% funded by the Centre).

Farming requires upfront cash for seeds and fertilizers before the monsoon. Small farmers often had to borrow this money at high interest rates. PM-KISAN solves this by providing direct income support.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• The Benefit: ₹6,000 per year is transferred directly into the bank accounts of landholding farmer families.
• The Structure: The money is not given all at once. It is paid in three equal installments of ₹2,000 every four months.

PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

Launched in 2016, this is the government's flagship crop insurance scheme. "Fasal" means crop, and "Bima" means insurance.

If a farmer's crop is destroyed by unseasonal rain, drought, or pests, this scheme ensures they get compensated. The genius of PMFBY is that it drastically reduced the insurance premium that farmers have to pay out of their own pockets. The rest of the premium is subsidized by the government.

You must memorize the exact premium rates farmers pay, as this is a highly tested fact:

• Kharif Crops (monsoon crops like rice, maize): 2%
• Rabi Crops (winter crops like wheat, mustard): 1.5%
• Commercial and Horticultural Crops (like cotton, apples): 5%

Sector 3: Women's Empowerment

Schemes in this sector focus on financial independence, maternal health, and correcting the gender ratio.

Lakhpati Didi Scheme

This is one of the most heavily promoted recent initiatives, seeing a major push in the 2024 Interim Budget.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development (operating under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission or DAY-NRLM).
• Objective: To empower women in rural Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to earn a sustainable income of at least ₹1,00,000 per year per household.
• How it works: The government provides these women with skill training in modern, profitable sectors. Instead of just traditional crafts, women are trained to become drone pilots (under the Namo Drone Didi initiative), LED bulb makers, or plumbing contractors.
• Target: The government recently increased the target from 2 crore to 3 crore Lakhpati Didis.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

This is a maternity benefit program launched in 2017.

When a woman from a poor household gets pregnant, she often works right up until the day of delivery to avoid losing daily wages, which harms both her and the baby. PMMVY provides partial wage compensation so the mother can take adequate rest before and after delivery.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Benefit: A cash incentive of ₹5,000 is provided directly to the bank account of pregnant women and lactating mothers for their first living child. (It is paid in installments upon meeting conditions like early registration of pregnancy and institutional delivery).
• Recent Update: The scheme now provides an incentive of ₹6,000 for the birth of a second child, provided the second child is a girl.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)

Launched in 2015 in Panipat, Haryana (a state which historically had a severely skewed child sex ratio), this scheme aims to prevent gender-biased sex-selective elimination and ensure the survival, protection, and education of the girl child.

• Nodal Ministries: This is a unique tri-ministerial effort. It is run jointly by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Education.

Sector 4: Digital Infrastructure and Financial Inclusion

You cannot transfer welfare money directly to a citizen if they do not have a bank account. The schemes in this sector built the foundation for India's modern digital economy.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Launched in August 2014, this is the National Mission for Financial Inclusion.

Before 2014, nearly half of India's population was "unbanked." They kept their savings in cash under mattresses. PMJDY changed this by allowing anyone to open a bank account with zero balance. Today, over 50 crore Jan Dhan accounts exist.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Finance.
• Key Benefits:
• A basic savings bank account with no minimum balance requirement.
• A free RuPay debit card.
• An inbuilt accident insurance cover of ₹2 lakh.
• An overdraft (OD) facility of up to ₹10,000 for eligible account holders (meaning they can borrow up to ₹10k even if their balance is zero).

PM SVANidhi (PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi)

Launched in June 2020, right after the first COVID-19 lockdown, this scheme was a lifeline for street vendors (vegetable sellers, cobblers, tea stall owners) whose livelihoods were wiped out overnight.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• Objective: To provide affordable, collateral-free working capital loans to street vendors.
• How it works: A vendor can get a micro-loan of ₹10,000. If they repay it on time, they become eligible for a second loan of ₹20,000, and eventually a third loan of ₹50,000. It rewards good repayment behavior and brings informal vendors into the formal banking system.

Sector 5: Rural Development, Housing, and Environment

These schemes focus on the physical infrastructure of the country—ensuring every citizen has a roof over their head, clean water, and electricity.

Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal)

Launched on August 15, 2019, this is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Indian history.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Objective: To provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all households in rural India by 2024.
• The Standard: The mission aims to supply 55 litres of water per capita per day (lpcd) of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)

The government's "Housing for All" initiative is split into two halves: PMAY-Urban (launched in 2015) and PMAY-Gramin (launched in 2016).

• Nodal Ministries: PMAY-Urban is run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. PMAY-Gramin is run by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• Core Feature: It provides central assistance to building houses. A key feature is the promotion of women's empowerment—the ownership of the house is mandated to be either in the name of the female head of the household or in joint ownership.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

This is a highly important recent scheme, launched in February 2024, making it a prime candidate for upcoming exams.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• Budget: A massive outlay of ₹75,021 crore.
• Objective: To provide up to 300 units of free electricity every month to one crore households by installing rooftop solar panels.
• How it works: The government provides a heavy subsidy directly to the bank account of the homeowner to cover the cost of buying and installing the solar panels. The household gets free electricity, and if they generate extra power, they can sell it back to the grid to earn an income.

Quick Revision

If your exam is tomorrow morning, scan these high-yield points to lock in the facts:

• PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat): ₹5 lakh health cover per family/year for secondary & tertiary care. Nodal: Health Ministry.
• PM-KISAN: ₹6,000/year to farmers in three installments. 100% Central Sector Scheme. Nodal: Agriculture Ministry.
• PMFBY Premiums: Kharif (2%), Rabi (1.5%), Commercial/Horticulture (5%).
• Lakhpati Didi: Target is 3 crore women in SHGs earning ₹1 lakh+ annually. Nodal: Rural Development.
• PMMVY: ₹5,000 maternity benefit for the first child. Nodal: Women & Child Development.
• PM SVANidhi: Collateral-free loans (10k, 20k, 50k) for street vendors. Nodal: Housing & Urban Affairs (NOT Finance).
• Jal Jeevan Mission: 55 litres of tap water per person per day to rural households. Nodal: Jal Shakti.
• PM Surya Ghar: Launched Feb 2024. 300 units of free electricity via rooftop solar. Nodal: New & Renewable Energy.