National Rurban Mission

Figure 3: No Copyright Infringement Intended

Context:

• Telangana stood first in the implementation of the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) that was launched four years ago to stimulate local economic development, enhance basic services and create well planned clusters.

About the Rurban Mission:

• Large parts of rural areas in the country are not stand-alone settlements but part of a cluster of settlements, which are relatively proximate to each other.
• These clusters typically illustrate potential for growth, have economic drivers and derive locational and competitive advantages.
• These clusters once developed can then be classified as 'Rurban'.
• Hence taking cognizance of this, the Government of India has proposed the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM), aimed at developing such rural areas by provisioning of economic, social and physical infrastructure facilities.

Targeted objectives:

• Bridging the rural-urban divide-viz: economic, technological and those related to facilities and services.
• Stimulating local economic development with emphasis on reduction of poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
• Spreading development in the region.
• Attracting investment in rural areas.

Role of States:

• The State Government identifies the clusters in accordance with the Framework for Implementation prepared by the MoRD.
• For the selection of clusters, the MoRD is adopting a scientific process of cluster selection which involves an objective analysis at the district, sub district and village level, of the Demography, Economy, Tourism and pilgrimage significance and transportation corridor impact.