Launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in 2011, the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was renamed as Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-NRLM (DAY-NRLM) in 2016. It is a flagship centrally sponsored programme aimed at eliminating rural poverty by promoting diversified and gainful self-employment and wage employment opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.
Strategic Objectives and Framework
The mission operates on the premise that the poor have a strong desire to come out of poverty and possess innate capabilities. The strategy involves building strong grassroots institutions of the poor.
- Social Mobilization: The mission aims to mobilize at least one woman member from each identified rural poor household into Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
- Financial Inclusion: It bridges the gap between the formal banking system and the rural poor by facilitating access to credit.
- Livelihood Promotion: It provides support for both farm and non-farm livelihoods, focusing on skill development, value chain integration, and market linkages.
- Community Resource Persons (CRPs): The model relies on the “poor helping the poor” by training community leaders to mentor new SHGs.
Key Institutional Structure
The mission operates through a tiered network of institutions:
- Self-Help Groups (SHGs): Small groups of 10–20 women from poor households who save money and lend it to members.
- Village Organizations (VOs): A federation of all SHGs within a village to provide collective support and oversight.
- Cluster Level Federations (CLFs): Federations at the cluster level that handle higher-level financial management, market linkages, and institutional capacity building.
Financial Provisions and Support
The government provides extensive financial support to stimulate economic activity among the SHGs:
- Revolving Fund (RF): Seed money provided to SHGs to meet their immediate internal lending needs and stabilize operations.
- Community Investment Fund (CIF): A fund provided to Village Organizations for on-lending to SHGs for livelihood activities.
- Interest Subvention: The scheme provides interest subvention to cover the difference between the bank’s lending rate and 7%, reducing the effective cost of credit for SHG members.
- Bank Linkage: The mission actively coordinates with banks to ensure Credit Linkage for SHGs, encouraging commercial banks to treat SHG financing as a priority sector activity.
Lakhpati Didi Initiative
The Lakhpati Didi initiative is a strategic sub-component under DAY-NRLM aimed at economic empowerment. It focuses on enabling SHG members to earn a sustainable annual income of at least ₹1 lakh per household.
- Scope: It involves training and capacity building for SHG women to take up diverse livelihood activities including agriculture, livestock, micro-enterprises, and service sector roles.
- Target: The initiative aims to support millions of women to move beyond subsistence-level income to a higher income bracket.
- Convergence: The programme leverages convergence with other schemes like PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises) and various skill development programmes to create holistic value chains.
Special Projects and Sub-Schemes
- Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP): Focuses on creating local enterprises by providing support for business planning and market access.
- Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP): A sub-component aimed at increasing the participation of women in agriculture and enhancing their productivity through sustainable agricultural practices.
- Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY): Provides safe, affordable, and community-monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with block headquarters.
Important Facts for Prelims
| Feature | Details |
| Launch Year | 2011 (Rebranded to DAY-NRLM in 2016) |
| Nodal Ministry | Ministry of Rural Development |
| Target Group | Rural poor, focusing on women |
| Identification Method | Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP) |
| Funding Pattern | 60:40 (Centre:State) for most states; 90:10 for NE/Himalayan states |
| Primary Institution | Self-Help Groups (SHGs) |
| Key Banking Linkage | Interest Subvention Scheme |
Critical Success Factors
- Financial Literacy: The mission promotes regular savings and internal lending to inculcate financial discipline among the rural poor.
- Skill Development: By linking with Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), the mission provides placement-linked skill training for rural youth.
- Digitalization: The use of the “SHG Mobile App” and digitized credit records has increased transparency and reduced the administrative burden on bank branches.
- Social Inclusion: The programme specifically mandates the inclusion of the most vulnerable and marginalized sections, including those belonging to the SC/ST and minority communities.