Year-ender 2024: Centre’s DAY-NRLM scheme creates 1.15 crore Lakhpati Didis, targets 3 crore mark

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) scheme has succeeded in creating 1.15 crore Lakhpati Didis, earning Rs 1 lakh or more annually, as part of the Centre’s initiative to empower women in rural areas and the target is to increase their number to 3 crore, according to the year-end review of the Ministry of Rural Development released on Tuesday.

The focus of this initiative is to empower women to become financially self-sufficient by helping them scale up businesses and contribute to sustainable development across rural India.

The DAY-NRLM’s objective is “To reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong grassroots institutions of the poor.”

The programme focuses on developing community institutions like Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Village Organisations (VOs), and Cluster Level Federations (CLFs), providing the rural poor with a platform for mutual support, savings, and credit access. These groups offer collective resources to overcome poverty.

Aiming for universal access to financial services, DAY-NRLM also provides critical support in remote areas by deploying women as Banking Correspondent (BC) Sakhis, enabling the delivery of banking services, loans, and social security schemes like pensions and insurance.

The programme empowers women farmers through agroecological practices, livestock management, and better market access. It promotes training and capacity building to enhance productivity and reduce costs.

Beyond agriculture, DAY-NRLM supports women in establishing micro-enterprises in sectors like handicrafts, food processing, and small-scale manufacturing. The programme helps landless rural women take up income-generating activities, with a focus on micro-enterprises that utilise local resources.

The programme places women at the core of development by forming SHGs and federating them into VOs and CLFs. It fosters social capital by involving women in decision-making, strengthening trust, and cooperation within rural communities. More than 6 lakh trained Community Resource Persons are involved in thematic areas such as livestock, agriculture, and financial services.

SHGs form the backbone of DAY-NRLM, with approx. 5 lakh VOs and 32,000 CLFs enabling collective empowerment. These federations provide a platform for collective action, decision-making, and access to resources.

DAY-NRLM incorporates a bottom-up approach, involving rural communities in the planning and execution of development activities through village-level meetings, consultations, and participatory rural appraisals.

Over 1.35 lakh SHG members are deployed as BCAs (also known as BC Sakhis), improving access to banking services, including deposits, credit, remittances, pensions, and insurance.

Besides, the Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund (WEAF) initiative supports women entrepreneurs in SHGs by providing debt financing and credit guarantees. Women can access loans up to Rs 5 lakh with a 2 per cent interest subvention for prompt repayment, boosting women-led businesses and stimulating economic growth.

DAY-NRLM encourages rural communities to adopt healthier practices and utilise government services such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, Poshan Abhiyan, and more. It focuses on Food, Nutrition, Health, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene).

–IANS

sps/uk