Mission to provide urban facilities in rural areas

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The government Thursday announced a "rurban mission" for providing city-like facilities in rural areas, following a model adopted in Gujarat.

Named "Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission", it will be launched to deliver "integrated project-based infrastructure in rural areas".

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, presenting the budget proposals, said people living in rural areas "can get efficient civic infrastructure and associate services" through this scheme.

He said it will also include development of economic activities and skill development.

Jaitley cited Gujarat as an example and said the 'rurban' development model has been a success there.

"The preferred mode of delivery would be through PPP (public private partnership) while using various scheme funds for financing," he said.