Poverty Alleviation

UNIT 4 TRYSEM AND DWCRA Programmes – A

Retrospect

Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 TRYSEM: The Programme and its Functioning
4.2.1 Origin and Objectives of TRYSEM
4.2.2 Strategy of TRYSEM
4.2.3 Organizational Framework
4.2.4 Backward and Forward Linkages
4.2.5 Performance of TRYSEM
4.3 Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)
4.3.1 Objectives and Strategy of DWACRA
4.3.2 Administrative and Organizational Aspects of DWCRA
4.3.3 Funding Support System for DWCRA
4.3.4 Training for the Members of DWCRA
4.4 Performance of DWCRA
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.6 Key Words
4.7 References and Suggested Readings
4.8 Check Your Progress – Possible Answers

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
• describe the main features of TRYSEM and DWCRA;
• explain their planning and implementation processes; and
• outline the performance and impact of these programmes.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Women and the youth constitute a significant proportion of the productive work force
of the country. IRDP is essentially a self-employment programme. Therefore it is
logistically reasonable to focus on the youth, both men and women in the age group
of 15 – 35, and equip them with necessary skills and entrepreneurship capabilities.
Keeping this in view, along with IRDP, as its special component, TRYSEM was
introduced in 1979. Similarly, in the case of women, though IRDP was supposed to
cover 40 per cent of the total beneficiaries, it was felt that if they were organized
in groups, they would be more effective in income generating self-employment
enterprises. It is on this premise that DWCRA was launched in 1983.

4.2 TRYSEM: THE PROGRAMME AND ITS

FUNCTIONING

Let us now have a look at the objectives of TRYSEM, its strategy, the organizational
framework and the linkages.

39
Poverty Alleviation 4.2.1 Origin and Objectives of TRYSEM
Programmes – A Retrospect
The rural unemployed youth are categorized into four groups: (i) Literate and Skilled,
(ii) Literate and Unskilled, (iii) Illiterate but Skilled and (iv) Illiterate and Unskilled.
While the fourth category was mainly dependent on wage employment, the other
three groups could be provided with skills that would help them not only in starting
their own micro enterprises but also in creating employment for many others and thus
help in solving the problem of increasing unemployment among the youth in the
country. Keeping this in view, TRYSEM was launched in 1979 as a component of
IRDP.

Under this programme a target of 40 youth, both men and women, in each block,
every year, were to be selected and trained in skills and entrepreneurship development
to enable them to become self-employed. Apart from providing self-employment
opportunities, TRYSEM also sought to meet another goal. It was hoped that by
providing access to income generating activities in the rural areas, the influx of rural
youth to urban areas could be curbed. Moreover, local needs could also be met with
local resources, thereby giving a fillip to rural development.

The objectives of TRYSEM are to provide the rural youth (18-35 years of age), from
the families below the poverty line, with training and technical skills to enable them
to take up self-employment (wage employment was added in 1982-83) in agriculture,
industry, services and business activities. Training in this context is perceived not only
in terms of the provision of physical skills, but also in terms of desirable change in
attitude, enhancement of motivation and skills in human relations, etc. Self-employment,
in the context of TRYSEM, is defined as gainful employment on a full-time basis
which results in an income sufficient for the family of the youth to cross the poverty
line. Situations of employment in which the means of production are owned, hired or
taken on lease are taken to be self-employment situations.

When TRYSEM was launched in 1979, IRDP was in operation in about 2,300 blocks
in the country. As the problem of the rural youth was thought to be pressing, TRYSEM
was introduced in all the 5,000 blocks in the country. The blocks which were under
the IRDP operations had funds allotted from IRDP allocations, while the non-IRDP
blocks had separate funds allocated to them. In 1980, IRDP was extended to all the
blocks in the country and TRYSEM became the “self-employment for youth”
component of IRDP. Separate funds for TRYSEM were allocated since the beginning
of the financial year 1981-82.

4.2.2 Strategy of TRYSEM

The youth identified for the programme are to be put through a period of training,
either in a training institution or under a master craftsman. The duration of the
training is flexible depending upon types of courses (generally speaking, it should not
exceed six months). TRYSEM trainees are given a stipend and a tool kit. On the
successful completion of training they become eligible to receive a subsidy/credit/
income generating asset under IRDP. The cost of training is met out of the funds set
aside for infrastructure, etc. under IRDP. Every TRYSEM trainee is thus a potential
IRDP beneficiary. TRYSEM is currently putting emphasis on industries and services.
A programme for developing entrepreneurship among TRYSEM trainees is being
conducted separately.

The objectives of TRYSEM include wage employment (since 1982-83) in the case
of project linkages. Such projects, selected by the State Level Coordination Committee
(SLCC), were required to fulfil the following conditions:
• Projects were to be integrated ones.
40 • Beneficiaries were to be from IRDP target groups.
• At least 50 per cent of the youth were to be trained for self-employment, either Poverty Alleviation
for secondary or tertiary sector activities. Programmes – A
Retrospect
• Training of all beneficiaries was to be funded out of TRYSEM funds.
• Wage employment training was to be in the secondary and tertiary sectors.

4.2.3 Organizational Framework

The Block Development Officer (BDO) has the responsibility to select the eligible
youth belonging to the target groups with the help of Village Level Workers (VLWs).
The BDO invites applications and scrutinizes them. The identification of vocations is
done by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) in consultation with the
district level officers of different departments, keeping in view their sectoral plans.
Emphasis is placed on producer activities and the marketability of the product also
is kept in mind. After the short listing of vocations, the DRDA prepares a resource
inventory of training facilities like polytechnics, Khadi and Village Industries (KVIs),
Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Nehru Yuvak Kendras, etc. Additionally, services of a master
craftsman may be utilized for training on a very limited scale (not more than three
trainees per master craftsman at any point of time).

Once the list of potential beneficiaries is drawn, a committee (with members from
training institutions of the area, bankers, Khadi and Village Industries Training Institutes,
Panchayati Raj Institutions and others whom the committee may wish to include)
presided over by the BDO finalizes the selection keeping in mind the following points:
i) An attempt should be made to select the members of the poorest families first.
ii) Priority should be given to members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
iii) At least one-third of the candidates should be women.
iv) Some consideration should be given to persons who have completed the twelve-
month course under the National Adult Education Programme.
No educational qualifications have been prescribed for the trainees. The syllabus,
which has to be approved by the DRDA, is expected to include training in operational
skills as well as managerial skills.

Thus, DRDA is responsible for the implementation of TRYSEM. The Assistant

Project Officer (Industries) and Extension Officers (Industries) are responsible for
the execution of TRYSEM in addition to their normal duties. At the state level, there
is a sub-committee of the State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) working
exclusively for TRYSEM. An official of the rank of Project Director of DRDA
functions at State Headquarters on behalf of the IRDP monitoring cell. At the apex
level, i.e. at the level of the Centre, the Central Committee on IRDP and related
programmes provides policy guidelines and also monitors the implementation of
approved activities. This committee is presided over by the Department of Rural
Development.

Check Your Progress I

Note: a) Write your answer in the space provided.
b) Check your answer with the possible answer provided at the end of
the unit.
1) What is TRYSEM ?
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41
Poverty Alleviation 4.2.4 Backward and Forward Linkages
Programmes – A Retrospect
Once the selected youth complete their training, they are to be provided self-employment
opportunities like the basic support system and infrastructural facilities. It is here that
backward and forward linkages assume importance. Backward linkages basically
comprise inputs and infrastructural support to the trainees, whereas forward linkages
relate mainly to the demand for and marketing of the products produced by them. For
the trainees, the DRDA is responsible for coordinating or providing these linkages.
For this, it has to maintain contacts with institutions that can provide such linkages.
Such functional public undertakings are selected as can provide infrastructural support
and also supply inputs. Funds earmarked for infrastructure development under IRDP
may be utilized for developing such institutions. Moreover, District Cooperative
Marketing Societies (DCMS) also provide marketing support for IRDP goods. In
addition, local haats (bazaars) and regulated agricultural markets have a useful role
to play in the marketing of their products.
The infrastructure for training itself is provided by networks of organizations at the
national and sub-state levels. These include the National Institute of Rural Development
(NIRD) at Hyderabad and its regional centre at Guwahati, the State Institutes of
Rural Development, the Extension Training Centres (ETCs), and other institutions of
Management Development and Rural Management. These institutions basically focus
on training the trainers who in turn train the TRYSEM candidates as well as assist
in various areas of rural development.

4.2.5 Performance of TRYSEM

As you have studied, TRYSEM was set up to train the rural youth from poor families
for realizing self-employment opportunities. Hence, in order to analyse the performance
of TRYSEM, we must focus on two issues. The first is the extent to which the
targets set in terms of the number of youth to be trained, the financial allocation to
be made, etc. were realized. The second is the ease or flexibility with which the
trained youth have been able to gain access to self-employment opportunities. Moreover,
while looking at the various aspects of self-employment, we must also see whether
self-employment has helped in ameliorating the conditions of poverty in the families
concerned.
Tables 4.1 and 4.2 provide financial expenditure and physical achievements of TRYSEM
for different plan periods. Now, you can compare the achievements of the programme
during the different plan periods. It may be mentioned here that it was possible to
realize the desired results from the programme in any of the plan periods. As can
be seen, the youth who got self-employed after the training were less than 50 per cent
of the original number. About 10 to 20 percent of the trained youth were able to get
wage employment and the remaining continue to be unemployed even after training.
Table 4.1: Financial Support under TRYSEM
S. Period Recurring Expenses Infrastructure Assistance
No ( Rs. In Lakhs) to Training Institutions
(Central Share)
1. Sixth Plan 387.90 5754.50*
2. Seventh Plan 12884.71 2435.35*
3. 1990-91 3260.93 441.00*
1991-92 4879.31 400.00*
4. Eighth Plan 1992-93 4703.96@ 600.00*
1993-94 8944.67@ 795.55*
1994-95 7403.25@ 899.42*
1995-96 7331.26@ 1396.31*
@: Denotes Central and State releases.
* Central Releases
42 Source: Annual Report 1996-97, Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment.
 Table 4.2 : Number of Youth Trained and Employed Poverty Alleviation
( in Lakhs) Programmes – A
Retrospect
S. Period No. of Youth No.of Youth No. of Youth Employed
No to be Trained Trained Self Wage Total

1. Sixth Plan 10.9 10.14 4.78 1.02 5.80

2. Seventh Plan NA 9.97 4.64 1.31 5.95
3. Annual Plan 1990-91 4.25 2.36 1.23 0.41 1.65
1991-92 4.25 3.07 1.19 0.47 1.67
4. Eighth Plan 1992-93 3.00 2.75 0.99 0.42 1.41
1993-94 3.50 3.03 1.07 0.43 1.51
1994-95 3.18 2.81 0.86 0.44 1.31
1995-96 * - 2.91 0.98 0.48 1.46

*: Provisional
-: Targets not fixed
Source: Annual Report 1996-97, Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment.

Having looked at the performance of TRYSEM, let us assess its functioning and see
whether there are shortcomings and if there is room for further improvement. First,
we may dwell for a moment on the achievements of TRYSEM as a programme. It
has had some success as a means of tackling the problem of unemployment and
under-employment in rural areas. Moreover, in its training format, it has been fairly
successful in providing both technical skills and managerial and entrepreneurial abilities.
It has also made large scale use of master craftsmen and other trainers in informal
settings. In fact, its stress on vocational training has prompted some to propose that
rural education in general should be reoriented to include some elements of training
as provided by TRYSEM.
There are, however, shortcomings in the operation of TRYSEM. Some of them are
given below:
• Implementation is generally uneven.
• Although the programme imparted training, it has not, in some cases, instilled the
candidates with the confidence necessary to take up self-employment ventures.
• The training offered lacked appropriate technology in the package provided.
• There are deficiencies in training arrangements and also in the syllabuses
prescribed by various training institutions.
• In the selection of trades, self-employment possibilities and their financial viability
were not considered right in the beginning.
• Assistance in the provision of raw materials and marketing has been poorer than
expected.
• Every district did not have training centres for TRYSEM.
• In a large number of cases, the assistance provided to TRYSEM trainees from
IRDP for projects had no link with the training they had received.
Check Your Progress II
Note: a) Write your answer in the space provided.
b) Check your answer with the possible answer provided at the end of
the unit.
1) Explain to what extent did TRYSEM achieve its objectives?
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43
Poverty Alleviation
Programmes – A Retrospect 4.3 DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN
RURAL AREAS (DWCRA)

In the preceding unit you studied details about IRDP, the main poverty alleviation
programme in the country. As we discussed in that unit, after the first few years our
planners realized that women did not reap as much benefit out of IRDP as they were
expected to. Besides, women have some unique problems in taking up self-employment
activities. These are: (i) women have the responsibility of managing household chores
which keep them engaged for a considerable time every day, (ii) women with infants
around them find it difficult to leave them unattended and (iii) most of the poor
women being illiterate lack even the minimum entrepreneurship capabilities and
therefore it is necessary to organize them into groups so that, supported by cooperative
group effort, they may perform better. Hence, it was felt necessary to devise a
special programme which could overcome the above mentioned problems of the poor
women and children in rural areas. Accordingly, DWCRA was introduced in 50
districts on a pilot basis in the year 1983. Steadily, more and more districts were
brought under DWCRA and by 1990-91 its coverage was extended to all the
districts in the country. Initially, it was also a component of IRDP. In 1990, however,
it was made an independent programme by itself.

4.3.1 Objectives and Strategy of DWCRA

The basic objective of DWCRA is to provide rural women with productive income-
generating assets and credit, and also enhance their skills. Further, it seeks to provide
an effective organizational support structure so that, to be more effectively, the
women involved may receive assistance in the production of goods and services. The
target group of DWCRA is the same as that of IRDP and TRYSEM. The basic
deviation from IRDP, however, lies in the fact that under DWCRA, it is not individual
families which receive assistance but the group. The DWCRA scheme envisages
the formation of groups, each consisting of 15 to 20 women. It is expected that the
women would come together for activities which are mutually beneficial to them. The
financial assistance which is available for a group is as follows:
a) Rs. 15,000 in the form of a one-time grant, as a rotating fund contributed in equal
shares by the Government of India, the State Government concerned and UNICEF,
which may be used as:
• Working capital to procure raw materials, and for marketing purposes.
• Honorarium to the group organizer ( it should not exceed Rs. 50 per month
for a period of one year).
• Infrastructural support for income generating activities.
• Funding for childcare facilities by establishing Anganwadies in all the villages
where DWCRA groups are organised.
b) Travelling allowance at the rate of Rs. 2000 per year for one year for the group
organizers.
Although DWCRA is basically a programme to generate productive assets, it is not
confined to providing economic benefits. It includes supportive services like mother
and child care, adult education, immunization, etc. To this end, coordination is maintained
with various other departments such as Education, Health and Family Welfare, and
Women and Child Development.

4.3.2 Administrative and Organizational Aspects of DWCRA

DWCRA has an administrative structure for carrying out operations related to the
44 programme. At the state level, a woman of the rank of Deputy Secretary to the State
Government is in charge of the programme. At the district level, a woman officer Poverty Alleviation
may be appointed as an Assistant Project Officer (APO, Women’s Development) to Programmes – A
Retrospect
assist the Project Officer of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). You
have already studied the functioning of DRDA in an earlier unit on Rural Administrative
Structure in Block 3, MRD-101. At the block level, on the Community Development
pattern, the norm is to provide a team comprising one woman BDO (Mukhya Sevika),
two women VLWs (Gram Sevikas) and one Gram Sevika per DWCRA Block. It is
to be ensured that the Project Officer of DRDA remains the coordinating officer at
the district level and the BDO at the block level.

The task of planning, implementing and monitoring of DWCRA has been entrusted
to DRDA, as DWCRA was a part of IRDP. The staff provided for DWCRA were
an APO, a Mukhya Sevika and Gram Sevikas who were expected to spend adequate
time with the target groups, which you have read about in the previous sub-section.
They must explain the nature and purpose of the group to the women concerned, help
them analyse their situation so that solutions can be considered, give ideas, information
and assistance regarding possible income generating activities which the group can
undertake, and provide encouragement, guidance and support.

4.3.3 Funding Support System for DWCRA

The main financial assistance is provided by the Central Government. The Central
Government releases the Central share of Rs. 5,000 per group and travelling allowance
for the group organizers directly to the DRDAs. It also releases the share of UNICEF
equivalent to Rs. 5,000. Equipment and input costs subject to a ceiling of Rs. 50,000
per centre and cost of staff are also provided. The State Governments in turn release
their shares in the grant and travelling allowance to groups and group organizers
respectively.

The groups utilize the grants for various purposes. They use it to build up infrastructural
support and marketing facilities, purchase of raw materials, etc. and the grant by
UNICEF is used to purchase training kits, equipment for childcare facilities, etc. If
no childcare programme is available, some childcare facilities could be provided so
that children are not neglected when their mothers go to work. For the DWCRA
groups that are registered under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860, there
is a provision for a multi-purpose centre in the blocks covered under DWCRA
so that women can use them for training and economic activities.

4.3.4 Training for the Members of DWCRA

Since the overriding concern of DWCRA is to improve the socio-economic conditions
of women and children in rural areas, it is important to train women so that they are
able to make better use of the skills acquired to enhance their productivity. Under
DWCRA, training is provided by various agencies at different levels. The organizer
of each group helps the women to derive maximum benefits from the training they
receive. Moreover, Gram Sevikas, Mukhya Sevikas and APOs help in identifying
viable activities and projects for the group. Activities could include tailoring, knitting,
bamboo basket making, fishing, poultry, pottery, soap making, candle making, etc.
Training for imparting skills to DWCRA beneficiaries is also expected from TRYSEM.
In this case, however, some problems arise as TRYSEM caters only to a certain age
group. Training of officials and trainers who would, in turn, train the women in various
groups, is carried out by the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD),
Hyderabad.

4.4 PERFORMANCE OF DWCRA

To evaluate and assess the functioning of a special programme like DWCRA, it is 45

important to review its broad objectives. These include increase in women’s
Poverty Alleviation participation in rural development and a rise in their earnings; helping women to
Programmes – A Retrospect develop new skills; providing them with better access to credit; and helping them in
marketing their products. With these objectives in view, let us take a look at the
performance of DWCRA.

From Tables 4.3 and 4.4, it is clear that investment on DWCRA increased considerably
year after year and so the number of the groups and the members of DWCRA
programme. One of the reasons for this rapid increase was that every year new
districts were added to the programme and by 1993-94 all the districts were covered
under it.

DWCRA suffers from some basic deficiencies and problems which act as constraints
in the functioning of the programme. These include shortage of functionaries at every
level, lack of infrastructural facilities and credit, problems in the selection of projects,
lack of clarity regarding the role of the groups, and low motivation of the members
of the groups.

The Report of the National Commission on Self Employed Women and Women in the
Informal Sector (1988) mentions that in some states, like West Bengal, DWCRA has
been fairly successful in aiding women to produce products of good quality. In Punjab
the Women’s Economic Development Corporation has been linked to DWCRA and
has therefore been successful in providing markets for the products through government
contracts. Some problems, however, do persist. The organizing capabilities of women
have not gone up in any great measure, as managerial skills do not form an important
part of the total training imparted. Moreover, the poorest of the poor among the
women do not derive the greatest of benefits. It is usually the less poor among the
poor women who get to form the groups. One of the provisions under the programme
is that DWCRA members can avail themselves of loan and subsidy under IRDP. The
unit of the beneficiaries under IRDP, as you read in the preceding unit, is the family.
Here, women face certain problems. Although women head a large number of
households, particularly where men may have migrated to the cities, they find it
difficult to gain access to credit. Moreover, in many cases women are denied credit
simply because some male member in the family had defaulted on an earlier loan.
Apart from this, even delivery structures which provide inputs, essential supplies, etc.
very often do not recognize women as heads of the households.

Table 4.3: DWCRA— Physical and Financial Performance – 1993-94 to 1996-97

S. Sector 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97*

No.

1. No. of Groups (Thousands)

i) Target 11.00 13.40 30.00 30.00

ii) Achievement 15.5 37.96 35.58 37.63

2. Women Membership (Thousands) 286.52 592.00 697.09 514.22

3. Central Assistance Released 2365.00 3100.00 6365.00 3380.97

(Rs. Lakhs)

4. Expenditure Incurred (Rs. Lakhs) 1918.63 5419.91 5731.84 4570.41

*: Up to January 1997.

Source: Data from the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment.

46
 Table 4.4: DWCRA - Achievement during the Plan Periods Poverty Alleviation
Programmes – A
S. No Target: No. Achievement: No. of Women Funds Released
Retrospect
of Groups No. of groups Beneficiaries (Rs. in Lakhs)

1. Sixth Plan 6035 3308 52170 298.53

2. Seventh Plan
1985-86 5000 6008 101056 630.70
1986-87 7500 5545 96132 786.33
1987-88 7500 4959 83589 607.29
1988-89 7500 5968 98636 738.21
1989-90 7500 5551 90294 901.00
3. 1990-91 7500 7139 109557 898.00
1991-92 7500 8043 141132 1225.00
4. Eighth Plan
1992-93 7500 9029 128744 1548.70
1993-94 11000 15483 268100 1266.48
1994-95 13400 37964 592026 3100.00
1995-96 30000 35372 661156 6300.00
1996-97 * 30000 36319 495137 2907.06

*: Up to January, 1997.

Source: Annual Report 1996-97, The Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment.

Check Your Progress III

Note: a) Write your answer in the space provided.
b) Check your answer with the possible answer provided at the end of
the unit.
1) Why was a separate programme for women introduced?
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4.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have discussed two components of IRDP, namely TRYSEM and
DWCRA. We saw how they came into being to meet the felt needs and cater to
certain specific groups among the poor, viz. the youth and women and children.

Discussing TRYSEM, we learnt about the objectives and the strategies of the
programme. We read about the method of its functioning and its administrative
structure. Also, we assessed the its performance and listed some of its weaknesses.

Next, we discussed the special programme for women and children in rural areas.
The target of DWCRA are the rural poor as in the case of IRDP, but the unit of
its beneficiaries is a group consisting of 15-20 women, unlike in the IRDP where the
unit is a family. We discussed the funding mechanism for DWCRA, its functioning,
and its organizational support structure. In the end we evaluated the performance of
DWCRA and discussed some of its shortcomings.
47
Poverty Alleviation
Programmes – A Retrospect 4.6 KEY WORDS
Rural Youth : Rural men and women in the age group of 15 – 35
years.
Anganwadi : A mix of crèche and preparatory school for rural
children between six months and six years of age.
Gram Sevika : Woman Village Level Worker.
Revolving Fund : It is an initial financial support from the Government
to a DWCRA Group to start some economic
activities.
Group Scheme : A scheme or project in which more than five members
are involved.
Entrepreneurship : Ability to manage a scheme/project or income
generating venture.
Micro Credit : Small loans ranging from Rs. 500 to 10,000.

4.7 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

National Commission on Self-Employed Women and Women in the Informal
Sector. Shramshakti, New Delhi.
IRDP and TRYSEM and DWCRA: A Manual, 1988, Department of Rural
Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
Annual Report (1988-89), 1989, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of
India, New Delhi.
Annual Report (1989-90), 1990, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of
Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
Rural Statistics, 1990,1995,2001, NIRD, Hyderabad.

4.8 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS – POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check Your Progress I

1) Training of the Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), as the name of the
programme suggests, was to provide the rural youth (18-35 years) from the
families below the poverty line with training and technical skills to enable them
to take up self-employment (wage employment was added in 1982-83) in
agriculture, industry, services and business activities. Under this programme,
every year from each block, 40 youths, both men and women, were selected and
trained in skills and entrepreneurship to enable them to become self-employed.
Apart from providing self-employment opportunities, TRYSEM also sought to
meet the objective of stopping the migration of rural youth to urban areas. The
youth identified for the programme were trained either in a training institution or
under a master craftsman.

Check Your Progress II

1) Going through the statistics related to financial expenditure and physical

achievements of TRYSEM for different plan periods, it can be seen easily that
it was not possible to realize desired results from the programme in any of the
48 plan periods. The youth who were self-employed after the training were less
 than 50 % of the original number. About 10 to 20 per cent of the trained youth Poverty Alleviation
were able to get wage employment and the remaining continued to be unemployed Programmes – A
Retrospect
even after training.

Check Your Progress III

1) In spite of 40 % coverage of women under IRDP, it was found that they were
not able to take advantage of the programme. Women have some unique problems
in taking up self-employment activities. These are: (i) women have the responsibility
of managing the household chores which keep them engaged for a considerable
time of the day, (ii) women with infants find it difficult to leave them unattended
and (iii) most of the poor women being illiterate lack even the minimum
entrepreneurship capabilities and therefore it is necessary to organize them into
groups, as while in a group they can perform better with the collective help and
encouragement available in the group. Hence, it was felt necessary to devise a
special programme for the rural women and children in order to overcome the
above mentioned problems. Accordingly, DWCRA was introduced in 50 districts
on a pilot basis in the year 1983. Steadily, more and more districts were brought
under it and by 1990-91 its coverage was extended to all the districts in the
country.

49