UPSC Prelims 2019 GS Paper I · Q61 of 100 Economy medium

The Service Area Approach was implemented under the purview of

  1. (a) Integrated Rural Development Programme
  2. (b) Lead Bank Scheme ✓ UPSC's answer
  3. (c) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
  4. (d) National Skill Development Mission

Why the answer is (b)

• The Service Area Approach (1989) was introduced under the Lead Bank Scheme (1969): each rural and semi-urban bank branch was allotted a cluster of 15–25 villages for which it prepared credit plans and met credit needs — option (b).

• It aimed to end scattered lending and duplicate coverage; the RBI relaxed its restrictive features in 2004.

• IRDP (a) was a poverty-alleviation subsidy scheme; MGNREGS (c) is an employment guarantee; the Skill Mission (d) deals with training.

• Hence option (b).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Integrated Rural Development Programme
IRDP was a subsidy-linked poverty scheme, not the framework for SAA.
(c) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
MGNREGS is an employment guarantee scheme.
(d) National Skill Development Mission
The Skill Mission concerns training, not bank credit planning.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2019, held on 2 June 2019. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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