TOWARDS VIKSIT BHARAT: EVALUATING MULTI-SECTORAL WELFARE-SDG LINKAGES AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL

Abstract

Rural development is a very important part of the country's Vision for Viksit Bharat 2047. Government's social welfare programmes are also very important in order to further speed up socio-economic development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper is an attempt to study the extent of effectiveness of multi-sectoral welfare programmes at the village level in terms of their impact on the outcomes of social and economic developments. A primary survey on 437 rural respondents dealing with awareness of the welfare programs, their implementation, number of people benefited from it, and advantages perceived by the respondents in key areas related to SDGs using structured questionnaire was carried out. The data for this study was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, correlation, and regression analysis and inferences were drawn using the different procedures. The results showed that the respondents in the rural areas are fairly aware and able to access welfare programs, therefore, welfare programs have directly affected these communities. Education, health care, sanitation, women's rights, all these aspects were taking a leap forward, which meant that the society was progressing. Nevertheless, the economic impact of welfare programmes remains modest as their claims of real improvement in income and job status and household finances were small in number of people. Regression results also indicate that having more people covered by programs improves living standards in a much more significant way than looking just at the experience of individual beneficiaries. The analysis concludes that welfare programs are effective in improving the quality of people's lives, but they should be more effective in changing the economy. In alignment with India's vision of Viksit Bharat, inclusive and sustainable rural development depends on making last mile delivery better, ensuring more participation of the people and integrating welfare and livelihood-based schemes.