Which of the following statement(s) is/are true for Atal Bhujal Scheme in Rajasthan ? (a) Atal Bhujal Scheme has been running by Government of Rajasthan with the Financial assistance of Govt. of India. (b) The focus of this scheme is on better management of ground water as well as to prevent its reducing level. Select the correct answer from the codes given below :

Correct — option (2), Only (b).

Statement (a) is false. Atal Bhujal is not a Government of Rajasthan scheme run with the Centre's help. Rajasthan's Economic Review 2022-23 says: "Atal Bhujal Scheme has been running by Government of India with assistance of World Bank (50:50)".

The Prime Minister's Office release of 25 December 2019 (PIB) gives the funding. Of the ₹6,000 crore outlay over 2020-21 to 2024-25, 50% is a World Bank loan repaid by the Central Government and 50% is Central Assistance. Both are passed on to the States as grants.

Statement (b) is true. The Review's sentence continues that the scheme is "to focus on better management of ground water as well as to prevent its reducing level".

Only statement (b) is correct, so the answer is Only (b).

The idea to remember: Atal Bhujal is a Government of India scheme with World Bank assistance (50:50); the States, including Rajasthan, receive the money as grants and implement it.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Neither (a) nor (b) — This rejects both statements, but statement (b) is true. The Economic Review 2022-23 states the scheme's focus as better management of ground water and preventing the fall in its level.

  PIB's launch release describes the same aim in other words: sustainable groundwater management through community participation in seven States.

• (3)
  Only (a) — This keeps the false statement and drops the true one. Statement (a) gets the owner wrong: the scheme is the Government of India's, assisted by the World Bank, not a State scheme with central help.

  Statement (b), the focus on better groundwater management and arresting the fall in its level, is the correct one.

• (4)
  Both (a) and (b) — Statement (b) is true, but statement (a) is not. Rajasthan implements the scheme, with its Ground Water Department as nodal department, yet the scheme and its money come from the Government of India and a World Bank loan.

  PIB says the loan and the Central Assistance reach the States as grants, so the State is the implementer, not the scheme's financier.

Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal) is a groundwater management scheme built on community participation. PIB's launch release says it aims to strengthen the institutional framework for participatory groundwater management and to bring about behavioural change at the community level.

Its focus is on demand-side management led by gram panchayats: using less groundwater, not only recharging more. The Prime Minister said better-performing gram panchayats would get more allocation.

PIB names seven States: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, with about 8,350 gram panchayats in 78 districts expected to benefit.

Key facts

• PIB: the Prime Minister launched Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal) on 25 December 2019, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary.
• Total outlay ₹6,000 crore over 2020-21 to 2024-25: 50% World Bank loan repaid by the Centre, 50% Central Assistance.
• The World Bank loan component and Central Assistance are passed on to the States as grants.
• Seven States: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Economic Review 2022-23: Rajasthan's five-year provision is ₹1,189.65 crore as grant; 1,139 gram panchayats identified.

Common traps

• Implemented by a State is not run by the State. Rajasthan's Ground Water Department is the nodal department, but the scheme and its funding belong to the Government of India and the World Bank.
• "50:50" is the split between the World Bank loan and Central Assistance, not a Centre–State cost-sharing ratio. The States receive both parts as grants.
• Sources differ on the launch date. PIB reports the launch on 25 December 2019; the Economic Review 2022-23 says it was launched on 1st April 2020, the first day of its 2020-21 to 2024-25 period.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under Atal Bhujal Yojana, the World Bank loan component and the Central Assistance are passed on to the States as

  • (a)loans at concessional interest
  • (b)grants
  • (c)equity in state water utilities
  • (d)reimbursement after five years
  Answer(2) — PIB's release of 25 December 2019 says the entire World Bank loan component and Central Assistance shall be passed on to the States as grants. The Central Government repays the World Bank loan, so options (1), (3) and (4) do not describe the arrangement.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to Rajasthan's Economic Review 2022-23, which department is the nodal department for the Atal Bhujal Scheme in the State?

  • (a)Water Resources Department
  • (b)Ground Water Department
  • (c)Public Health Engineering Department
  • (d)Agriculture Department
  Answer(2) — The Review names the Ground Water Department as nodal department. Options (1), (3) and (4) appear in its list of main line departments for the scheme, not as the nodal department.