Andhra Pradesh has introduced a novel Public-Private-People Partnership (P4) programme to tackle poverty, spearheaded by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
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In what can be seen as a new model to eradicate poverty, High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and industry in Andhra Pradesh are now teaming up with the Government, thanks to a novel initiative of Public-Private-People Partnership (P4).
Brainchild of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the programme aims to bridge the socio-economic divide by encouraging the wealthiest 10 per cent of the population to support the bottom 20 per cent of the poorest families.
Digital tracking
As part of the programme, affluent individuals willing to contribute are designated as ‘Margadarsis’ (mentors), while the underprivileged beneficiaries are identified as ‘Bangaru Kutumbams’ (Golden Families). The Government will act as a facilitator, ensuring real-time tracking of progress through digital dashboards.
The Government has been campaigning on social media to attract donors and also reaching out to HNIs, diaspora, besides holding sessions with big corporations.
As of the date, 10 lakh families have been adopted out of a total of 15 lakh identified, and one lakh Margadarsi (donors) have been mobilised across the State, as the rollout of benefits is currently underway. Kakinada district has the highest number of adoptions in the State, followed by East Godavari.
Margadarsis step in
“The Margadarsis hail from diverse backgrounds, including HNIs, businessmen and also major industries who are joining as part of Corporate Social Responsibility,” a senior official told Business Line.
The donors have been given a wide choice of participation in the scheme, such as funding a need, adopting a family, a village, or a mandal, depending on their financial commitment. “We are ready to chip in to support identified beneficiaries as per the guidelines set by the Government. The names of donors and beneficiaries will be made public at an appropriate time by the Government,” an industrialist who is one of the donors said.
Fund-crunch
The programme comes handy for the cash-strapped state exchequer, which is not in a position to spend more on poverty eradication. Chief Minister Naidu has been vocal on many occasions about the need for the rich to come forward and help the poor, as well as the Government, in poverty eradication measures.
Beneficiary criteria
The beneficiary families – Bangaru Kutumbams – have been short-listed based on a five-point socio-economic criteria of absence of an earning member, cooking gas connection (LPG), bank account,
electricity connection and access to clean water. The information has already been collected through a comprehensive survey.
In the first phase of the programme, where 15 lakh families are to be benefited, Households are prioritised based on the applicability of the number of inclusion criteria. For instance, the families with no earning member and no LPG connection are being given high priority.
Those with no bank account and electricity connection, as well as those without access to clean water, are categorised as mid- and low-priority, respectively.
The Gram Sabhas are empowered to verify and validate the Validation of socio-economic criteria of the households.
Inclusive growth
Describing the programme as a people-centric welfare model, the recently-released report of the Task Force on Economic Development for Swarna Andhra Pradesh@2047, chaired and co-chaired by Naidu and N Chandrasekaran, Executive Chairman, Tata Sons, said the programme was “essential to ensure that development is inclusive and sustainable”.
Published on August 15, 2025
