To strengthen the governance and effectiveness of India’s rural development efforts, the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, initiated a third-party, independent evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) under the Ministry of Rural Development. We were entrusted with the task of undertaking a sectoral review of key rural development programmes to support the rationalisation and integration of schemes for improved outcomes.
We served as the evaluation partner, leading a comprehensive sectoral review of the Rural Development sector, to unlock the sector’s full potential by integrating programmes and harmonising strategies for long-term, sustainable growth.
The evaluation adopted the REESI+E framework (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Sustainability, Impact + Equity), ensuring a holistic and equity-centred approach to assess six flagship schemes: MGNREGA, PMAY-G, PMGSY, DAY-NRLM, NSAP, and SPMRM.
These sector-wide insights laid the foundation for evidence-based policy reforms and helped shape a more resilient, integrated rural development policy framework aligned with India’s long-term growth ambitions.
