Wed Feb 26 11:46:03 UTC 2025: **Rural Development Schemes Dominate India’s 2025-26 Budget**
NEW DELHI, February 26, 2025 – The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) will receive the lion’s share of the rural development budget, according to a new report by the PRS Legislative think tank. The Ministry of Rural Development’s ₹1,87,755 crore allocation for 2025-26—an 8% increase over the previous year—earmarks 75% for these two flagship schemes.
MGNREGS, guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment, receives 46% of the allocation, while PMAY-G, focusing on rural housing, receives 29%. Other significant recipients include the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), each receiving 10% of the budget.
The report highlights a 12% average annual growth in rural development budget allocations between 2014-15 and 2025-26, with a notable surge during the pandemic to support MGNREGS and welfare schemes like direct benefit transfers.
Despite a 69% increase in PMAY-G’s allocation to ₹54,832 crore, the report notes that 41% of the 2024-25 allocation remained unutilized. PMGSY, aiming for all-weather road connectivity, received a 31% increase, reaching ₹19,000 crore. The Department of Land Resources received a 35% increase, totaling ₹2,651 crore, though past spending has consistently fallen short of budgeted amounts. The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) saw a 15% decrease in allocation.
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