India Scales 90 Lakh SHGs Under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana, Advancing Women-Led Rural Growth
SDG 1: No Poverty | SDG 5: Gender Equality
Institutions: Ministry of Rural Development
India’s flagship rural livelihoods programme, DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission), has achieved significant scale: over 10.05 crore rural households have been mobilised into 90.9 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across 28 states and 6 Union Territories. The scheme has supported 4.6 crore “Mahila Kisans”, backed 3.74 lakh enterprises, trained 17.5 lakh rural youth via Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) with 11.48 lakh placed, and deployed 47,952 “Bank Sakhis” to enhance financial inclusion.
The mission’s core intent is to reduce poverty by enabling rural households, especially women, to access self-employment, skilled wage jobs, and diversified livelihoods. This is achieved through mobilising SHGs, enabling access to credit, and promoting farm and non-farm enterprises.
By institutionalising large-scale SHG networks and linking them with formal finance and skill training, the programme aligns with India’s goal of ensuring equitable rural prosperity. Monitoring outcomes across states will be key to translating participation into improved incomes and resilience.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
How can DAY-NRLM ensure that membership in SHGs and youth training placements translate into sustained income growth and diversification of rural livelihoods?
Follow the full news here: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2181702