DAY-NRLM – National Rural Livelihood Mission [Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana]

Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods Mission was launched in June 2011 with a budget of $5.1 billion by the Government of India under the Ministry of Rural development. It is an improvised version of Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. Before the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), it was structured as Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP). Then, it was renamed as Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National livelihoods Mission on 25 September 2015. This program became essential in regard to the UPSC exam.

The main aim of this scheme is to banish poverty in rural areas and give financial aid nationwide to provide sustainable livelihoods to people in rural areas. This program facilitates rural people to augment their family income by giving them employment opportunities, learning platforms, other institutional support, etc. The main idea behind the implementation of this scheme is to start self-help groups for people in rural areas. The World Bank also funds this scheme partially (around $ 1 billion).

Guiding Principles of National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM):

1. NRLM thinks that rural people have innate abilities to learn skills and have the capability to earn enough money.
2. Strong external reinforcement is required to uplift the social mobilization, infrastructure development, and Empowerment process.
3. NRLM thinks that building infrastructure and strengthening the community through social mobilization is a critical stage for the poor to release or practice their capabilities. So we need strong institutions and unionism for the poor.
4. There are several benefits for the poor to provide them various opportunities to grow and learn, such as Skills building programs, access to credit facilities, access to market facilities, Spreading knowledge, livelihood services, etc.

Values of National Rural Livelihoods Mission:

1. Meaningful roles should be provided to the poor in all stages of work.
2. The roles given to poor people should not always be submissive; they should be given a chance to head a group at all levels, like planning, implementation, monitoring, etc.
3. People from disadvantaged backgrounds should be taught several methods to become self-reliant and independent.
4. Transparency is to be there in all institutions.

Implementation of National Rural Livelihoods Mission:

NRLM is implemented in blocks and districts. This program gives a broad idea that all the districts and blocks are to be covered over the period of 10 years. The plan sounds like this:

• First-year- 150 districts and 600 blocks
• Third year- Additional 150 districts and additional 1,500 blocks
• Fifth year- Balance 300 districts and additional 2,100 blocks
• Seventh year- Balance 1 district and 800 blocks
• Tenth year- Last village 
• The fourteenth year- The last household is to be covered

Implementation at the block level is done through four methods:

• Resource blocks: This is supported by the National Resource Organization (NRO), where 5-6% of blocks are implemented in a state. These are the ‘proof of concept’ or main blocks for other blocks such as Intensive blocks, Partnerships blocks, and Non-intensive blocks. Community resource persons (CRPs) help in resource blocks at different levels, such as inspiring women from diverse communities, taking social action, etc.
• Intensive blocks: These are the kinds of blocks where internal community members take the help of CRPs from resource blocks to implement blocks.
• Partnership blocks: State rural livelihood mission (SRLM) takes the help of local communities, NGOs, or SHGs to implement blocks in a particular state.
• Non-intensive blocks: Some blocks left and not included in the initial phase are known as non-intensive blocks.

Features of Aajeevika- National Rural Livelihood Scheme:

• Universal Social Mobilisation: This scheme utilizes the intrinsic values and skills of rural people by involving them in various activities related to finance, knowledge, collectivization, etc., to become economically fit in society, especially groups like Particularly Vulnerable Tribal groups (PwDs), Persons with disabilities(PwDs), and bonded labor. Universal social mobilization also organizes a program where one woman for each household is ready to be a part of the self-employed groups inter alia.
• Self-Help Groups (SHGs) Implementation: Self-help groups (SHGs) and confederated organizations decided to cover seven crore rural households, 600 districts, 6000 blocks, 2.5 lakhs gram panchayats nationwide and will continue supporting them for the next 8-10 years to earn their livelihood.
• Community institutions: Instead of Individualisation, this scheme works with community institutions. It gives rural livelihoods the access to stand for their family, speak for their rights and ask for their services through the implementation of autonomous state societies.
• Financial inclusion and funds: In the Annual financial statement, a budget of 520 crore rupees was introduced for UT(s) of J&K(Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh till the financial year 2023-2024. NRLM also provides funds such as the Revolving fund(RF) and Community Investment fund(CIF) as resources that last forever(Perpetuity). NRLM offers financial support for the poor like Insurance, Asset facility, Health coverage, etc. It also works with Institutes like Banks and Business correspondents to help them in various aspects. This means it works on the sides of demand as well as supply.
• Allies: This scheme also seeks partnerships with Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Societies organizations (CSOs). It works on two levels; one is on strategy, and the second is on implementation. It also links with PRIs( Panchayati Raj Institutions) for support and other benefits.

Support Structure of NRLM:

Different units support NRLM at four levels: National, State, District, and Sub-district. These units help the rural people under NRLM in many ways, such as providing professional help, health facilities, financial help, and investing in their capabilities to improve their skills.

• National level: At the National level, we have organizations like the Empowered committee (EC) and the National Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (NRLPS).
• State level: State level includes organizations like State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and State Mission Management Units(SMMUs).
• District level: It includes District Mission Management Units(DMMUs).
• Block level: It includes Block Mission Management Units(BMMUs).

Sub-Schemes under Aajeevika-NRLM:

• RSETIs: RSETIs are spelled as Rural Self Employment Institutes. It is supported by 31 banks and the state government to enhance the skills of rural people. It is an initiative by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
  The RSETIs have 30-40 different programs. These programs are categorized into the following categories:

1. Agricultural programs
2. Product programs
3. Process programs
4. General programs
5. Training programs
6. Other programs

• MKSP: The full form of MKSP is Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana which was started in 2011. This helps women farmers actively participate in agricultural activities by safeguarding their rights and services to work on their capabilities and improve their skill sets. Another benefit of this program is that it provides food and nutrition facilities to women in rural areas to enhance their managerial skills, learning skills, etc.
• SVEP: People today are more likely to start their own enterprises, which is why they implement this scheme. SVEP(Start-up village entrepreneurship program) was initiated in the year 2016, which helps rural households to share their ideas and get the opportunity to work on their startup.
  It provides support to rural startups, constituting three key factors. These key factors are (a) Missing knowledge ecosystem, (b) Missing financial ecosystem (c) Missing incubation ecosystem.
• DDUGKY: The full form of DDUGKY is Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, initiated in 2014, which helps the youth learn various skills (related to placement, jobs) which allow in incentivizing their wages or salary.
  The 15-35 years age group is targeted in this scheme. Its vision is to help youth in rural areas improve their skills, stabilize their economic conditions and enhance their capabilities to become a relevant workforce globally. One thousand five hundred crore rupees will be invested in the rural youth to improve their skill set.
• AGEY: AGEY is spelled as Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana, which was initiated in the year 2017, and serves in developing public transport systems in rural households to make it easy for rural people to travel. It also contributes to economic development by developing infrastructure in rural areas.
  People can access basic amenities and services after the transportation facilities in remote areas are safe and affordable.
• NRLP: NRLP stands for National Rural Livelihood Project. NRLP is a sub-set of NRLM designed to create ‘proof of concept’ and facilitates an environment where people in rural areas can transit to NRLM. It is to be implemented in 13 high-poverty states. These States account for 90 percent of the rural poor in India. One hundred seven districts and 422 blocks of 13 states are to be covered and invested under this scheme. 13 states are Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Orissa.

The Objectives of NRLP are:

• The development of humans as a resource, as well as Infrastructural development, is given importance under this scheme at every level.
• The institutions will be established in rural areas to improve the conditions of rural people, such as financial services, learning platforms, innate abilities, etc.
• This scheme invests in different projects related to management, learning, innovation, Technology, and various other projects.
• This scheme helps the poor rural scale their ideas into innovation by partnering with other organizations.
  An amount of US $1 billion (4,500 crore rupees approx) is to be allocated for five years. The Government of India signed the agreement with the World Bank in 2011.

Results:

• SHGs have been advantageous for women across the country.
• SHGs have helped improve credit facilities in the last ten years since this scheme was launched.
• This scheme covered over 75 million members and  6.9 million SHGs in India.
• India is on top when it comes to SHGs networking for women in the world.
• People came forward with issues like healthcare, sanitation, dowry, child marriage, etc., which is a good step towards the success of this program.

Current Affairs related to Aajeevika-NRLM:

1. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) under the Ministry of  Rural Development recently became a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, where 152 centers were launched under Saksham centers on October 4th and 8th, 2021.
2. SAKSHAM centers are for financial literacy and service delivery to rural livelihoods. This is the Stop solution for SHGs to ask for financial help for purposes like credit facilities, Pensions, etc., for rural households.
3. SAKSHAM centers cover 77 districts of 13 states nationwide.
4. Assistance by trained Community Resource Persons (CRPs), SHGs will be managed equally to the Cluster level federations (CLFs).

Criticism:

• Andhra Pradesh and Kerala showed some excellent outcomes, but it wasn’t the same for other states. The authority was committed in these States, but it cannot be expected for every other state.
• Men don’t generally work in groups which is a drawback for its approach of working in teams.
• Women tend to be busy with other chores, which means minimum time is given to SHGs.
• Making groups is a time taking process.
• As a result of people working in groups, individuals or entrepreneurs aren’t included in these SHGs.