Under the programme, the top 10% economically rich people will handhold the bottom 20% underprivileged population, says Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
| Photo Credit: File Photo
As part of achieving the Swarna Andhra-2047 goal, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is gearing up to launch its ambitious flagship programme, ‘Zero Poverty – P4 Policy’, on Ugadi, the Telugu new year (March 30 this year). The policy is aimed at eradicating poverty in the State by 2047.
‘P4’ stands for ‘Public, Private, People Partnership’, and achieving ‘zero poverty’ is one of the ‘Padi Sutralu’ (10 principles) of Swarna Andhra-2047.
Empowering families
Through the ‘Zero Poverty – P4 Policy’, it is targeted to ensure empowerment at the family level. This is achieved by giving house sites, constructing houses, providing sanitation facilities, ensuring 100% tap water connections, offering LPG connections and reliable power supply with incentives for rooftop solar installations, providing high-speed Internet access for all households, and promoting entrepreneurship in every family.
Under the initiative, the economically weaker families, which are the beneficiaries, are referred to as ‘Bangaru Kutumbam’ (roughly meaning golden families), while the well-off contributors are called ‘Margadarsis’ (guides). These names have been finalised after public consultations.
Addressing the third District Collectors’ conference on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said, ”P4 transforms socio-economic development through partnerships between public and private entities, and the people. P4 perpetuates a virtuous cycle to uplift communities through inclusive economic growth.”
The Chief Minister observed that by engaging High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs) and the Telugu diaspora could contribute towards bridging the economic divide.
“As a social responsibility, the top 10% economically rich people should handhold the bottom 20% underprivileged population,” Mr. Naidu said.
“This is a first-of-its-kind policy that encourages collaboration between the Government, the HNIs and the Telugu diaspora to reduce economic inequalities and boost socioeconomic progress,” he said.
By adopting families, they can have a long-term engagement, and those willing to invest time can offer support beyond financial help. For instance, mentorship on financial decision-making and career guidance, access to professional networks, help with tuition fees, or working capital for businesses are some of the expected services from the ‘Margadarsis’.
‘Margadarsis’ with limited time at their disposal can help by providing funds. The targeted financial contribution will be provided to the verified needs of the beneficiary individuals. For example, funding education expenses, medical expenses at the individual and family levels, and assets and infra development at the community or village level can be undertaken.
Govt. role
The State government will identify the ‘Bangaru Kutumbams’ through analytics on government databases and surveys. They will not be excluded from the government’s welfare schemes. The government’s role is confined to only framing the policy, and has nothing to do with financial transactions.
The ‘Margadarsis’ can then search and select the families they indent to support. Thereafter, the government staff will initiate interactions between them till mutual comfort is established. The support provided is tracked on the P4 platform.
The funds required are self-reported at the family or village level on the P4 platform. It will be verified by the designated public entity as per the defined SOP. And all transactions are facilitated through the P4 platform.
After verification of the government data, it is concluded that 20 lakh most deprived families will be prioritised for adoption by the top 10% families. The others will be added subsequently.
A ‘P4 Society’ is being constituted to drive the initiative at the State level, apart from chapters at the district, Legislative Assembly constituency and village secretariat levels. The public representatives, government officers, industry leaders, philanthropists, CSR heads, civil society and social impact organisations will be included as members in these chapters and the society.
The government expects the initiative to mobilise extensive public-private participation, fostering inclusive economic growth and setting a precedent for poverty alleviation models in India.
Published – March 26, 2025 09:26 pm IST