Budget 2018: Government's Mission 2022

The year 2022 will be a landmark one, what with India celebrating its 75th year of Independence then. Many of the NDA government’s goals are targeted for 2022, and the year found quite a few mentions, and reiterations, in Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitley’s budget speech:

1. New India: The FM proposed an initiative called “Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education”, or RISE. Launch year: 2022, with an investment of Rs 100,000 crore in the next four years. A Higher Education Financing Agency will fund RISE. “These two far-reaching initiatives under the Ayushman Bharat will build a New India 2022,” the FM said.

2. Education for tribal children: By 2022, the target is to have an Ekalavya model residential school in every block with more than 50 percent ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons. Ekalavya schools will be on a par with Navodaya Vidyalayas and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.

3. A home for all: The government has fixed a target of a home for every poor of the country by 2022. By end 2018-19, the target is to build over 1 crore houses in rural areas under the Prime Minister Awas Scheme Rural. In urban areas, assistance has been sanctioned for 37 lakh houses.

4.Double farmers’ income: The FM reiterated PM Mod’s aspiration to double farmers’ income by 2022. 

5. All-weather roads: This is one deadline that has been advanced from March 2022 to March 2019–the task of connecting eligible habitations with all-weather roads. This will include major links to connect habitations to agricultural and rural markets (GrAMs), higher secondary schools and hospitals. The Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana Phase III will include such linkages.