Welfare Programmes & Schemes of Chhattisgarh — CGPSC GS Paper V, Part 1

Weightage: Part 1 of GS Paper V ends with "Chhattisgarh state-specific regulations and welfare schemes". Scheme names, benefit amounts and even whole programmes change with governments and budgets, so this chapter teaches how to study a scheme and lists dated examples. Verify names and amounts from the current budget and the department portals before the exam, and never treat an example below as permanent.

1. How to study a scheme: the six-part card

Give every scheme the same six lines, so that a question on any scheme can be answered in a minute.

The limits line is the one that lifts an answer from description to analysis.

2. Programmes by sector

The examples reflect the state's 2026-27 budget documents and press coverage, and are given as dated illustrations.

Food and nutrition.

• The Food Security Act (2012) and the community-run PDS, described in the economy chapter, are the base.
• A state top-up scheme for food assistance (Mukhyamantri Khadyann Sahayata Yojana in the budget reports) supplements it.
• Anganwadi services and the PM POSHAN school meals address child nutrition.

Farmers.

• MSP procurement of paddy through cooperatives, described earlier.
• The Krishak Unnati Yojana, which the budget reports describe as paying farmers a set price per quintal for paddy up to a limit per acre, extended in 2026-27 to pulses, oilseeds, maize and millets.
• Free or subsidised power for irrigation pumps, and central schemes such as PM-KISAN and crop insurance.
• A scheme for landless agricultural labourers, listed in the budget as a separate welfare item.

Women.

• The Mahtari Vandan Yojana, a monthly cash assistance to eligible married women, reported to reach over seventy lakh beneficiaries, and one of the largest items in the budget.
• Women's self-help groups under Bihan, and reservation in local bodies.

Health.

• Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) health cover, together with a state health scheme named after Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh in the budget.
• Haat Bazaar Clinics, begun on 2 October 2019, take a doctor and medicines to weekly markets in remote areas.
• New medical colleges proposed in the 2026-27 budget for districts such as Dantewada, Manendragarh, Kabirdham, Janjgir-Champa and Kunkuri.

Education.

• Samagra Shiksha and the Right to Education Act, with state schemes such as free bicycles for girls (Saraswati Cycle Yojana).
• The 2026-27 budget proposes education cities in Abujhmad and Jagargunda, areas formerly under Maoist influence.

Housing and rural development.

• PMAY-G, PMGSY roads and the Jal Jeevan Mission, with the national rural employment guarantee now under a changed framework.

Forest gatherers.

• Charan Paduka Yojana gives footwear to tendu leaf collectors, and MSP purchase of minor forest produce and Van Dhan centres, described earlier, support incomes.

3. Design questions

Direct cash transfers. A monthly cash transfer reaches women without intermediaries, gives them spending power and supports household nutrition. But it uses a large share of the budget, so it may crowd out capital spending, and it needs clean beneficiary lists to avoid leakage. The FRBM ceiling on the deficit limits how far such schemes can grow.

Targeting and exclusion. Aadhaar-linked and bank-linked delivery cuts leakage but can exclude people without documents, weak connectivity or nearby banking, which is a live problem in remote tribal hamlets.

Last-mile delivery. Service delivery in Bastar and Surguja is limited by roads, mobile networks and staff vacancies. Schemes such as Haat Bazaar Clinics and community-run PDS were designed around this constraint.

Convergence and evaluation. Schemes for the same family, such as nutrition, housing and livelihood, work better when planned together through the Gram Sabha, and should be judged on outcomes such as stunting or school completion, not on outlays.

Worked example 5.1 (an 8-mark answer, ~100 words). "Evaluate the direct cash transfer schemes for women in Chhattisgarh."

Model answer. Monthly cash assistance to women, such as the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, gives women independent income, supports household nutrition and reaches beneficiaries directly through bank transfer without intermediaries.

Concerns are fiscal and administrative. The scheme absorbs a large share of the budget, which may squeeze capital spending under the FRBM limit, and beneficiary lists need regular verification to prevent leakage and exclusion.

Its impact is strongest when paired with self-help groups, skills and local livelihoods, so that cash leads to lasting economic participation and not only consumption. Outcomes should be tracked through nutrition and school indicators.

Common traps CGPSC sets here

• Quoting a scheme amount as permanent. Benefits and budgets are revised, so give the year.
• Attributing a scheme to the wrong government. Programmes change with governments, so name the year of launch, not a person.
• Mixing state and central schemes. PM-KISAN, PM-JAY and PMAY-G are central. Mahtari Vandan and Krishak Unnati are state schemes.
• Describing only benefits. Every answer should end with the limits.
• Ignoring tribal delivery. State how remote districts are reached.

Memory aids

• "Purpose, Beneficiary, Benefit, Agency, Year, Limits": the six-line card.
• "Central: PM-KISAN, PM-JAY, PMAY-G; State: Mahtari Vandan, Krishak Unnati": who owns what.
• "Cash with capital": pair transfers with livelihood and infrastructure in evaluation answers.

Summary

Welfare in Chhattisgarh rests on a legal food-security base and cooperative procurement, and adds state schemes for farmers, women, health, education and forest gatherers. The 2026-27 budget's flagships include a farmer-support scheme and monthly cash assistance to women, alongside central programmes.

Because names and amounts change, study each scheme through a six-part card and evaluate it on design: targeting, cost, exclusion, last-mile delivery and outcomes.

Exam protocol

• Date every scheme, and separate state from central.
• End each scheme answer with its limits.
• Evaluate cash transfers on cost, targeting and outcomes.