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Aajeevika- National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), 2011 – IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

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Aajeevika- National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), 2011

Policy Update
Khushboo Dandona

Poverty is not a state where an individual lacks the money or material possessions to fulfill their basic needs; it is a complex social condition shaped by structural inequalities, socio-economic policies, and systemic exclusion. It is associated with a lack of education, poor health, inability to work, a high rate of disorderly behaviour, and improvidence. The Planning Commission in India defines the poverty line as per capita consumption expenditure of Rs 49.09 per month in rural and Rs 56.64 per month in urban areas at 1973-74 prices at the national level. It is a complex and multifaceted issue influenced by a combination of historical, economic, social, and political factors.

According to the 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index Report, over a third of all poor people live in South Asia. It was around 389 million people, and India significantly contributed to it, almost 70 percent of the increase in extreme poverty. On a more positive note, the State Bank of India’s report, based on the Annual Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), indicates that the poverty line in India has fallen below 5 percent, nearly eradicating extreme poverty. The SBI report adjusted the poverty line for inflation to determine the 2023-24 numbers at Rs1632 (rural) and Rs1944 (urban), respectively.

Under the Amrit kaal era, India is committed to “leave no one behind”, ensuring that the progress, benefits are extended to all its diverse population. Addressing such a persistent challenge requires comprehensive and sustained efforts. One such initiative is the Aajeevika- Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Back in June 2011, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, launched the Aajeevika- Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). It is one of the flagship programs to alleviate poverty, which aims to reduce poverty by enabling poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in sustainable and diversified livelihood options for the poor.

The mission achieves its objective by investing in four pillars:

  • Social mobilization and promotion, and strengthening of self-managed and financially sustainable community institutions of rural poor women.
  •  Financial inclusion.
  • Sustainable livelihoods
  • Social inclusion, social development, and access to entitlements through convergence.

The founding philosophy behind the program is to break the chain of poverty and bring community ownership to the program. The idea is that strong institutional platforms for the poor empowerment enable them to build up their own human, social, financial, and other resources. This helps them to access their rights, entitlements, and livelihood opportunities, including both public and private services. The social mobilization process enhances the solidarity, voice, and bargaining power of the poor.

Features

The DAY-NRLM is the predecessor of the Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY). The new design of this programme incorporates the features, which are an outcome of the experiences gained from the large-scale community-based projects in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The salient features are as follows:-

  • Demand-based approach to achieve agreed outcomes in a ‘time-bound’ manner
  • Dedicated support organizations with reach up to the community level, to nurture and support community institutions in a process-intensive manner
  • While SHGs remain the basic unit, higher order structures like SHG federations, producer organizations planned for last mile service delivery and market access
  • Creation of a pool of Social Capital in the form of Community Resource Persons (CRPs) and identification of internal CRPs and active women
  • Focus expanded to address multiple dimensions of poverty, including assets, skills, incomes, consumption, and risks (including food and health risks)
  • Convergence with other poverty reduction programs, social security schemes, and safety nets.

To promote a comprehensive livelihoods approach encompassing four interrelated tasks:-

  • Mobilizing all rural, poor households into effective self-help groups (SHGs) and SHG federation.
  •  Enhancing access to credit and other financial, technical, and marketing services.
  • Building capacities and skills for gainful and sustainable livelihoods.
  • Improving the delivery of social and economic support services to the poor through convergence.

How do they do it?

The focus is to promote the existing livelihood portfolio of the poor in the farm and non-farm sectors. Most of the rural people indulge in cattle rearing, collecting forest produce, fishing, pottery, blacksmithing, etc. They are also looking for new alternative opportunities. There are three pillars of livelihood inclusion:-

  • “vulnerability reduction” and “livelihoods enhancement” through deepening/enhancing and expanding existing livelihood options and tapping new opportunities within the key livelihoods that are virtually universally practiced, like agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forest produce collection, etc.
  • “employment” building skills for the job market outside, and
  • “enterprises” nurturing self-employed and entrepreneurs (for micro-enterprises).

The mission is based on a “Community-Driven” approach. Rural women are at the core of the program, which is extensively focused on their socio-economic empowerment by way of building their capacities, providing financial support, and training to enable them to undertake livelihood activities and become self-independent.

Initiative under Aajeevika- National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)

National Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (NRLPS) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Rural Development, signed an MOU with BRAC International, a global south-led organisation with a mission to empower people. The MoU has been signed for the inclusion of the poorest of the poor under DAY-NRLM. The DAY-NRLM mission has already reached 10 crore rural households in a phased manner by 2022-23 and has impacted their livelihoods. The partnership has been dedicated to universal and inclusive mobilisation.

As 100 million rural poor households have been mobilised already, now the focus shifts to uplifting “Lakhpati didis” through Samaveshi Aajeevika, an inclusive livelihood programme, while also ensuring the inclusion of the most marginalised in the SHG movement. The programme will introduce holistic, productive inclusion strategies to improve the lives of excluded populations.

Back in 2017, the central bank said that banks would provide funds to women SHGs in rural areas at 7 per cent under this mission. In 2019, to boost entrepreneurship among rural women, is set to focus on selecting 3-5 lakh women Self Help Group (SHGs) to convert their “nano enterprises into micro enterprises”. 

Since 2011-12 under the NRLM, SHGs have been entitled to get up to Rs 10 lakh as a loan without collateral over six to eight years. According to ministry officials, a stock-taking exercise of the total 52 lakh women SHGs, covering six crore women in the country, was carried out to determine how many have used at least Rs 7 lakh so far. About 3-5 lakh SHGs fell into this category and demonstrated a potential to have a larger market for their products.

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Source – The Asian Age

Impact

While the mission reached around 10 crore poor households by mobilizing rural women into community institutions such as SHGs and their federations, namely Village Organizations (VOs), Cluster Level Federations (CLFs), and higher order collectives such as Producer Groups (PGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), etc. The program covered 28 states and 6 Union Territories (except Delhi and Chandigarh). Nearly 8.64 crore women members have been mobilized into 80 lakh SHGs. There are more than 4.63 lakh Village Organizations formed under the program. There are numerous stories of women from poverty to prosperity who, under this mission, showcase the impact of hard work.

However, some complex questions remain unanswered. Since there has been no census since 2011. It is difficult to determine the exact number of the population under the poverty line. It is difficult to understand and analyze the consumption pattern and define the poverty line. This gap works as an obstacle as there is no accurate data-driven decision making, affecting the policy making and schemes like poverty alleviation programs.

Another important aspect is the complex gender dynamics shaped by patriarchal structures that persist in Indian societies. Men are considered as head of the family. This dynamic is seen in cases like obtaining a loan, where women were neglected, and men were prioritized. Even if women successfully secure loans, the funds are often used by men as they invest them in their business, which ultimately favours them. Apart from this, India is a caste-based society, and women are not a homogeneous group- they are divided by caste, class, and educational backgrounds. It is important to understand how these markers of identity act as a barrier to securing the loan and becoming a beneficiary of these missions.

Last but not least issue is measuring poverty. There is a lack of standardized methodology, which leads to different organisations using diverse parameters to measure poverty. This results in varying estimates of poverty rates, making it difficult to compare poverty levels across regions or time periods.

Conclusion

NRLM, a combination of financial resources and technical assistance, is provided to the states to achieve these objectives. The major values focused on inclusion, transparency, ownership, and self-reliance. However, there are still various unexplored questions that need to be addressed to fully realize these goals.

References

About the Contributor: Khushboo Dandona, a research intern at IMPRI India and a postgraduate student of Gender Studies at the Dr BR Ambedkar University, Delhi.

Acknowledgement: The author extends sincere gratitude to Dr. Arjun Kumar and Aasthaba Jadeja for their invaluable guidance and support.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.

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Mission Shakti: Advancing Women’s Safety, Security, and Empowerment in India (2022)

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