Executive Summary:
This document outlines the Ministry of Rural Development's initiatives to promote rural entrepreneurship and create jobs through Self Help Groups (SHGs) and skill development programs. It details progress under various schemes like DAY-NRLM (including SVEP), DDU-GKY, RSETI, and PMAY-G, alongside the PMGSY's role in climate-resilient infrastructure. The report includes data on training, placements, housing construction, and road connectivity achievements up to July 2025.
Key Points / Main Content:
Rural Entrepreneurship and Job Creation:
* DAY-NRLM's SVEP supports SHGs and their family members in establishing small non-farm enterprises, implemented in 31 States/UTs, supporting 3.74 lakh enterprises.
* DDU-GKY provides placement-linked skilling for rural poor youth (15-35 years), ensuring wages at or above minimum wage, with social inclusion targets for SC/ST, women, and PwDs.
* RSETIs, funded by the Ministry and sponsored by banks, offer skill and entrepreneurship development training to unemployed youth (18-50 years).
* Under DDUGKY, 17,50,784 candidates trained and 11,48,247 placed; under RSETI, 56,69,265 trained and 40,99,578 settled until June 2025.
Rural Infrastructure and Housing:
* PMAY-G aims to construct 4.95 crore pucca houses by 2029; as of 31.07.2025, 4.12 crore houses allotted, 3.84 crore sanctioned, and over 2.81 crore completed.
* PMAY-G converges with MGNREGS, providing 90-95 man-days of unskilled labor wages and promotes green housing technologies.
* MoU with CSIR-CBRI to digitalize PAHAL compendium for state-specific rural housing techniques.
* PMGSY, launched in 2000, provides all-weather road connectivity, promoting economic activity and rural entrepreneurship; PMGSY-IV supports inclusive rural development.
* PMGSY promotes climate-resilient and green infrastructure, with 15% of road length mandated to use new and green technologies.
* Under PMGSY, 8,38,611 km road length sanctioned and 7,83,525 km completed till July 2025; green technology road length sanctioned is 1,55,614 km, and 1,24,688 km constructed.
* PMGSY facilitates market access, enhances health, education, and skilling services, and drives entrepreneurial growth.
Climate Change Initiatives:
* The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change implements the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
* NAPCC addresses adaptation to climate change by improving the resilience of infrastructure, agriculture, and water sectors through community-based actions.
Impact Analysis:
Rural Poor Youth:
* Impact: Beneficiaries of skill development programs (DDU-GKY and RSETI) gain employable skills and placement opportunities, improving livelihoods.
* Action Required: Participate in skilling programs and seek employment opportunities.
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Families:
* Impact: Access to financial support and resources to establish and expand non-farm enterprises through SVEP.
* Action Required: Utilize the SVEP scheme to start or grow rural enterprises.
Rural Households:
* Impact: Access to pucca houses with basic amenities under PMAY-G, improving living conditions.
* Action Required: Engage with State Governments to understand and adopt green technologies in housing construction.
Rural Communities:
* Impact: Improved road connectivity through PMGSY, enhancing access to markets, services, and economic opportunities.
* Action Required: Utilize improved infrastructure for economic and social development.
State Governments:
* Impact: Responsible for implementing PMAY-G and encouraging the adoption of green technologies.
* Action Required: Encourage willing beneficiaries to adopt green technologies.
Banks:
* Impact: Supporting RSETIs in their districts, to provide training for skill and entrepreneurship development.
* Action Required: To continue supporting RSETIs.
Key Entities Referenced
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission: Aims to promote rural entrepreneurship through its sub-scheme, namely Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP).
Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme: A sub-scheme of DAY-NRLM that supports Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their family members to set up small enterprises in the non-farm sector, implemented in 31 States and Union Territories.
Self Help Group: Supported by Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme to setup small enterprises in the nonfarm sector.
DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana: A program under DAY-NRLM for skill development of rural poor youth through employment, providing placement-linked skilling for rural youth with regular monthly wages at or above the minimum wages.
Rural Self Employment Training Institutes: Training institutions funded by the Ministry of Rural Development and established by sponsoring Banks in their Districts, to provide training for skill and entrepreneurship development.
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin: A scheme to provide assistance to eligible rural households to construct pucca houses with basic amenities.
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana: An intervention to reduce rural poverty by providing all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations.
National Action Plan on Climate Change: Overarching policy framework that comprises of National Missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan eco system, sustainable habitat, green India and strategic knowledge on climate change.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2553
ANSWERED ON 05/08/2025
PROMOTION OF RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
2553. Shri RajmohanUnnithan:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the initiatives implemented to promote rural entrepreneurship
and create jobs through Self Help Groups and skill
development programmes;
(b) whether any new model village development projects being
planned to ensure integrated and inclusive progress in rural
areas; and
(c) the manner in which the Ministry supporting climate-resilient
infrastructure, such as roads, irrigation systems and housing,
in vulnerable rural regions?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)
(a): DeendayalAntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NRLM), inter-alia aims to promote rural
entrepreneurship through its sub-scheme, namely Start-up Village
Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP). The SVEP supports the Self-
Help Group (SHG) and their family members to set-up small
enterprises in the non-farm sector. The SVEP is implemented in 31
States and Union Territories, and so far, 3.74 lakh enterprises
supported.
Under DeendayalAntyodayaYojana - National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NRLM), this Ministry implements
DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDU-GKY) and
Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) programmes for
skill development of rural poor youth through their employment.
Objective of DDU-GKY is to provide placement-linked skilling
for rural youth, who are poor, and provide them with jobs having
regular monthly wages at or above the minimum wages. DDU-GKY is
a placement-linked skill development programme for rural poor
Page 1 of 3youth in the age group of 15-35 years. It empowers the rural poor
youth with employable skills and facilitates their participation in
regular labour markets. DDU- GKY guideline provides social
inclusion of SC/ST (50%), Women (33%), and PwDs (5%).
RSETI is a Ministry of Rural Development funded training
institutions established by the sponsoring Banks in their Districts,
to provide training for skill and entrepreneurship development. This
Ministry extends financial support for the construction of RSETI
building and also bears the cost of training the 'rural poor'
candidates. There is also a provision for training at RSETI to any
unemployed youth in the age group of 18-50 year having an aptitude
to take up self-employment or wage employment.
In the country, under DDU-GKY a total of 17,50,784 candidates
have been trained and a total of 11,48,247 candidates have been
placed, and under RSETI, a total of 56,69,265 candidates have been
trained and a total of 40,99,578 candidates have been settled since
inception till June 2025.
(b) & (c): The Ministry of Rural Development implements Pradhan
MantriAwaasYojana- Gramin (PMAY-G) with effect from 1st April
2016 to provide assistance to eligible rural households with an
overall target to construct 4.95 crorepucca houses with basic
amenities by 2029. As on 31.07.2025, out of the cumulative target
of 4.95 crore houses, 4.12 crore houses have been allotted to the
States/UTs, out of which 3.84 crore houses have been sanctioned
and more than 2.81 crore houses have been completed. Under the
Scheme, the beneficiaries are facilitated with 90/95 man days of
unskilled labour wages through mandatory convergence with
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
The PMAY-G adopts a holistic approach in sustainable development
through green housing technologies in rural areas. As per
Framework for implementation of PMAY-G, the State Governments
have been requested to encourage willing beneficiaries to adopt
green technologies by using appropriate materials and technologies
to reduce CO2 emission and depletion of non-renewable resources
by accessing different rural housing typologies as per PAHAL
(PrakritiHunarLokvidya) for achieving greenness in housing. This
Ministry has signed anMoU with CSIR-CBRI to digitalize the PAHAL
compendium, featuring 3D views and state-specific
techniques/technologies for rural housing, focusing mainly on
people's acceptability about the technologies in the area, besides
local resources, climate, terrain, and environmental conditions.
Page 2 of 3Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY), launched in year
2000, has been a transformative intervention to reduce rural poverty
by providing all-weather road connectivity to unconnected
habitations, thereby catalysing economic activity, improving access
to services, and enabling rural entrepreneurship.
PMGSY-IV, launched in September 2024 is designed to support
inclusive rural development, particularly in tribal, aspirational, and
remote geographies, and directly contributes to rural and economic
integration.
Cumulative Achievements under PMGSY till July 2025 are as under:
(a) Road length sanctioned: 8,38,611 km
(b) Road length completed: 7,83,525 km
PMGSY promotes Climate-Resilient and Green Infrastructure in
rural areas. The 2013 guideline mandates that at least 15% of road
length in each state be constructed using new and green
technologies. The initiatives taken under PMGSY not only reduce
the carbon footprint but also generate local employment
opportunities, promote resource efficiency, and enhance the
disaster resilience of rural infrastructure. Green Technology
Progress till July 2025 is as under:
(a) Road length sanctioned: 1,55,614 km
(b) Road length constructed: 1,24,688 km
The PMGSY serves as a foundational enabler by: (a) facilitating
market access for SHG products and farmers, (b) enhancing reach
of health, education, and skilling services, (c) enabling movement of
goods and services across rural value chains. In synergy with other
rural development initiatives, PMGSY acts as a key driver for
entrepreneurial growth, rural employment, and inclusive
development.
In addition to above, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change implements the National Action Plan on Climate
Change (NAPCC), which is the overarching policy framework and
comprises of National Missions in specific areas of solar energy,
enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan eco-
system, sustainable habitat, green India and strategic knowledge on
climate change. The Missions inter-alia address the need to adapt
to future climate change by improving the resilience of
infrastructure, agriculture and water sectors through community-
based actions.
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