The criteria for identification of districts for coverage under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) is as below:

 

The list of 250 districts initially included under BRGF includes all the 200 districts covered by the first phase of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) and 170 districts identified by the Inter-Ministry Task Group (IMTG) on Redressing Growing Regional Imbalances as backward.

 

The list of 200 districts covered by the NREGP includes all the 147 districts covered by the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY) and 150 districts covered by the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP).  These districts were identified on the basis of an index of backwardness comprising three parameters with equal weights to each namely, value of output per agricultural worker, agriculture wage rate and percentage of SC/ST population of the districts.

 

The Planning Commission set up the Inter Ministry Task Group (IMTG) on Redressing Growing Regional Imbalances, in August 2004.  The IMTG identified 170 districts based on 17 parameters which were added to the list of 200 NREGP districts, thus taking the total number to 250 districts for coverage under the BRGF (120 districts being common to both).  List of 17 parameters used by the IMTG for Redressing Growing Regional Imbalances for identification of backward districts is as under:

 1. Economic

(i)         Per Capita Credit

(ii)        Per Capita Deposits

(iii)             % of Agriculture Labourers

(iv)             Agriculture Wages

(v)               Output per Agricultural Worker

 

2.  Social and Educational

(i)                 % of SC Population

(ii)               % of ST Population

(iii)             Female Literacy Rate

(iv)             Ratio of Secondary Schools to Population of Specific Age Group

(v)               Gross Enrolment Ratio Class I-VIII (Age 6-13 years)

 

3.      Health

(i)                 Crude Death Rate

(ii)               Infant Mortality Rate

(iii)             Institutional Delivery

(iv)             Full Immunisation

 

4.      Amenities

(i)                 % of Households without Electricity

(ii)               % of Households with Bank Services

(iii)             % of Households with Drinking Water Source greater than 500 metres away.

 

During the year 2012-13, 22 new districts have been added to the list of 250 districts under BRGF.  The criteria adopted for these 22 new districts is as under:

(a)                Credit per capita (financial backwardness)

(b)               Percentage agriculture labourers total working population (indicates lack of industrial and modern service sector)

(c)                Percentage SC population (social backwardness)

(d)               Percentage ST criteria (social backwardness)

(e)                Female Literacy Rate (educational backwardness)

(f)                Infant Mortality Rate (quality of health services)

(g)               Percentage households without electricity (quality of infrastructure services)

 

This information was given by the Minister of Panchayati Raj Shri V. Kishore Chandra Deo in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

PKM/DB