Read the article given below and answer the following questions:

Know various poverty alleviation schemes launched by the Government of India

Let’s know some of the schemes launched for the upliftment of the poor- Ayushman Bharat: World’s largest free healthcare scheme Ayushman Bharat is a flagship scheme of the Government of India, which was launched to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This initiative has been designed to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its commitment, which is to “leave no one behind.” It provides a cover of up to Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Over 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (about 53 crore beneficiaries) are eligible for these benefits. The scheme provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiaries at the point of service. About Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana -Gramin Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin was launched to address the housing gaps existing in rural areas.

The houses built under the PMAYG scheme are low-cost and disaster-resilient. The Government also provides financial assistance to those who are homeless or living in kaccha houses. So far, 1.26 crore houses have already been built across the country under the scheme. Ujjwala scheme and Saubhagya scheme Ujjwala scheme aims to benefit 5 crore families, especially the women living below the poverty line. By providing free gas connections and electricity connections under the Saubhagya scheme, to crores of poor, now their dependence on wood has been greatly reduced. Apart from reducing pollution, it has also helped a lot in improving health and strengthening environmental protection.

A new (International monetary fund) IMF paper released on Tuesday, titled ‘Pandemic, Poverty, and Inequality: Evidence from India’ says that ‘extreme poverty was maintained below 1% in 2020 due to Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKY). Also, the central government claims that schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) “acted as a boon for the populace” in the pandemic years, when cities saw a reverse migration because of the lockdown. However, the Ministry of Rural Development’s (MoRD) Sixth Common Review Mission, which examines rural development schemes in seven States—Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Nagaland—and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, admits that their benefits did not reach significant pockets of the country.

The proportion of the poor population is more in rural areas in comparison to that of urban areas. According to you, which of the following factor does not explain the mentioned statement?

Slow growth witnessed in the IT sector

The proportion of the poor population is more in rural areas in comparison to that of urban areas because people residing there lack infrastructure, and technology which results in poor productivity. Also, due to inefficient access to the markets, they are unable to attain fair levels of profit. Lack of employment opportunities in rural areas increases the level of unemployment there. Slow growth in the IT sector is irrelevant as the industry focuses more on urban areas.