 India’s rural development ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Friday signed a memorandum of understanding for UNDP’s support to the rural employment and livelihood programmes during the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017).
Acccording to an official release, the MOU was signed by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator Lise Grande.
During the next five years, the ministry and UNDP will work to strengthen and institute effective implementation of the rural development flagship programmes, especially the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
The release said that the priority list includes the Governance and Accelerated Livelihood Security (GOALS) programme for 10 left wing extremist affected districts: Bastar, Kanker, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh and Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri and Raigada in Odisha.