Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana  Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) is a rural development programme launched by the central government in India in the financial year 2009–10 for the development of villages having a higher ratio (over 50%) of people belonging to the scheduled castes through convergence of central and state schemes and allocating financial funding on a per village basis. The plan is considered ambitious as it aims to bring a number of development programs to the villages. Some of these programs are Bharat Nirman, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for rural roads, water supply, housing, electrification and other big-ticket schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Integrated Child Development Services, and sanitation. This program would be applicable to around 44,000 villages which had a scheduled castes population above 50% and so qualified for PMAGY. This Program was brought by the UPA coalition government supported by the left parties. The project was aimed at getting a larger political role in scheduled caste (dalit) politics and was thought of strengthening the votebank of UPA leaders in regions having a high dalit population. The program was considered beneficial by the Congress party as the scheme gave a direct role to Centre to develop dalits at the grassroots. Congress hoped to improve its election results in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana which will have a large number of beneficiary villages. The Plan aims to build an "Adarsh Gram" (Model village} which has adequate physical and institutional infrastructure, in which minimum needs of all sections of the society are fully met. The village which is progressive and dynamic and its residents live in harmony. All the facilities necessary for dignified living should be available and the residents are enabled to utilise their potential to the fullest. Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojana was announced by the Finance Minister while presenting the Union Budget of India 2009–10. Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) was formally launched in 18 B.B village in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan on 23 July 2010. The scheme was launched by Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik with a reading of the Prime Minister's message emphasising that the scheme "aims at integrated development of 1,000 villages, where a majority of the population belongs to the Scheduled Castes."