Congress MP Shashi Tharoor recently claimed that 23 programmes launched by the BJP-led government are actually schemes started by the previous governments which have been simply renamed.
A quick look at these schemes:
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana = Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account
Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) was an account which didn’t required a minimum balance, yet was providing all the facilities of a normal banking account. BSBDA holders’ were provided an ATM too.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), launched on August 28, 2014, government is providing an accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh, overdraft facility up to Rs 5,000 after six months and a life insurance of Rs 30,000.
The basic difference is that unlike BSBDA, PMJDY accounts had a credit limit of Rs 1 lakh, otherwise both the schemes are similar.
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana=National Girl Child Day programmes
The UPA government had declared January 24 as the National Girl Day in 2008-09. It had started schemes like Dhanalakshmi and Sabla to improve the child sex ratio and reducing dropout rates among girls.
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana (BBBPY), launched in January 2015 is a comprehensive scheme which consolidated all the girl-child related programmes across several ministries under one roof.
BBBPY is a repackaging of older education schemes launched for girl child.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan=Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
The present government has restructured the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, started by the previous government, as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
UPA government has in fact, renamed the Total Sanitation Campaign as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan.
Sardar Patel National Urban Housing Mission=Rajiv Awaas Yojana
Sardar Patel National Urban Housing Mission-Housing For All By 2022 is an ambitious project launched by the current government to provide housing for urban poor and weaker sections of the society.
Rajiv Awas Yojana was a scheme launched by the UPA government in 2009 to provide housing for slum dwellers and urban poor.
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) = Indira Awaas Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) is a new name given to Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY),which aims to provide housing for rural masses.
Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana=Rajiv Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana
UPA government started the Rajiv Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana which provided free electricity connections to rural masses. It was replaced by Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana in 2014 and aims to achieve 100 per cent electrification in rural India.
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation=Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
To improve the quality of life and infrastructure of the cities, Manmohan Singh led-government had launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 2005.
Narendra Modi led-government launched a similar scheme titled Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation or AMRUT in June 2015 for the renewal of urban projects. In addition to this scheme, Smart Cities Mission was also launched with an aim to select 100 cities which will be developed as Smart Cities.
BJP’s neem-coated urea=Congress’s neem-coated urea
Neem-coated urea was included in the Fertiliser (Control) Order of 1985 in 2004. The present government also included this neem coated urea in the 1985 Order through an amendment on February 6, 2017.
Soil Health Card scheme=National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility
The UPA government has distributed soil health cards under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. The current government added soil health card to the National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility.
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana=Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and other programmes
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched in August 2007 as part of the 11th five year plan. It aimed to achieve four per cent annual growth in agriculture.
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana is a part of National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture. Under this scheme, government is promoting organic farming.
Atal Pension Yojana=Swavalamban Yojana
Swavalamban Yojana was started by the Congress government with an aim to provide pension to unorganised sector. The present government ended this scheme with their own Atal Pension Yojna which has the same objective.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana=Jan Aushadhi scheme
Manmohan Singh government has started Jan Aushadhi scheme to supply unbranded medicines at a lower price in 2008. It has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana this year,
Make In India=National Manufacturing Policy
Congress started the “National Manufacturing Policy”to promote manufacturing in the country. The purpose of today’s popular ‘Make in India’ is also the same.
Digital India=National eGovernance Plan
The current government has officially declared that they have “subsumed” the National eGovernance Plan under Digital India.
Skill India=National Skill Development Programme
Previous governments skill development programmes were relaunched as Skill India with new branding. This has been officially declared in a government press release.
Mission Indradhanush=Universal Immunisation Programme
Narendra Modi government has renamed the special immunisation weeks (under the Universal Immunisation Programme) as Mission Indradhanush.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana=National Rural Livelihood Mission
The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, a Mission which was started under the Congress regime.
PAHAL=Direct Benefits Transfer for LPG
PAHAL was initially launched in 2013 as part of Direct Benefits Transfer for LPG. It was relaunched in 54 districts on November 15 ,2014.
BharatNet=National Optic Fibre Network
The National Optic Fibre Network was launched in 2011 with an aim to provide Broadband connectivity to Panchayats. Now, it has been renamed as BharatNet.