New Delhi: The Union Cabinet held a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence on Monday and gave its nod to the continuation of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan till 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 5,911 crore.
The information was shared by Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur during a press briefing after the meeting.
The scheme will be implemented from April 1, 2022 till March 31, 2026 and will be extended to all states and union territories (UTs) of the country.
Out of the total financial outlay of Rs 5,911 crore, Centre will contribute Rs 3,700 crore in the scheme while states will put Rs 2,211 crore.
According to the government, the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan scheme will benefit as many as 2.78 lakh rural local bodies to achieve SDG goals. It will also help promote equity and inclusiveness, along with social justice and economic development.
The scheme also aims to help achieve improved service delivery and transparency.
The announcement comes weeks after the Modi government held a cabinet meeting and extended the scheme to provide 5 kg of grains free of cost to the poor by six months till September 30 at a cost of Rs 80,000 crore, as it looks to continue providing support to vulnerable amid a rebound in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scheme, which started when India went into stringent lockdown two years back, was to end on March 31.
In the last two years, around Rs 2.6 lakh crore has already been spent under this scheme and it will cost another Rs 80,000 crore with the extension of six months.