What is the full form of IRDP

IRDP: Integrated Rural Development Programme

IRDP stands for Integrated Rural Development Programme. It is a rural development program of Government of India launched on 2 October 1980 across the country. It aims to provide self-employment program to poor rural families to help them increase their income and cross the poverty line. It mainly targets the poor families which are living below the poverty line such as small farmers, agricultural labourers including the rural artisans. It is funded equally by state and centre on a 50:50 basis.

It is a centrally sponsored scheme. Since 1980, it is active in all the blocks of the country. Under this scheme, the funds are allocated to states on the basis of proportion of rural poor families in a State to the total rural poor families in the country. Since the beginning of the program till 1997, around 51 million families have been benefited from IRDP at an expenditure of Rs. 11434.27 crore, 45% of these families were Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and 27% were women. In the Eighth Five Year Plan, around 11 million families were covered under IRDP at the expenditure of 11541 crore.

IRDP is implemented through District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs). The DRDA comprises local MP?s, Chairman of Zila Parishads, representatives of SCs/ women etc. At the ground level, the blocks are responsible for implementing the programme. At the state level, the State level Coordination Committees monitor the programme.