Nine high-level officers from South Africa, at the request of South Africa’s Ministry of Public Works, came to India to understand the various flagship programmes by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, in the domain of rural public works.

The ministry spoke of flagship schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) that provides all weather road connectivity in rural India and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) – a pioneering livelihood security initiative that generates employment for nearly 50 million people. Other governmental programmes on social housing, environment, water and sanitation too were discussed.

The South African delegation led by Stanley W Henderson, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Public Works met key officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Secretary (Rural Development), MORD. Their meeting focused on exploring possibilities of technical cooperation between the two countries and in addressing the common challenges.

The visit highlights the growing technical cooperation between India and South Africa, indicating increased collaboration and knowledge sharing between the BRICS nations.