National Livelihood Mission

The National Livelihood Mission (NLM), officially known as the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), is one of India’s flagship poverty alleviation programmes aimed at promoting self-employment and organisation among the rural poor. Launched in June 2011 by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, it seeks to empower rural households by enhancing their access to self-employment opportunities, financial services, and sustainable livelihood resources.

Background and Evolution

The National Livelihood Mission emerged from the need to consolidate various livelihood and self-help group initiatives that had been operational under earlier schemes such as the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), launched in 1999. The SGSY had achieved notable progress in forming Self-Help Groups (SHGs), but its reach, sustainability, and linkage with financial institutions were limited.
Recognising these shortcomings, the Government of India restructured SGSY into the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) in 2011 to provide a more comprehensive, demand-driven, and community-based approach to rural development. Later, in 2015, NRLM was renamed the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) in honour of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, whose philosophy of Antyodaya emphasised uplifting the poorest of the poor.

Objectives and Vision

The mission aims to organise rural poor families into self-managed institutions and enable them to achieve sustainable livelihoods through access to financial services, skills, and market linkages.
Key objectives include:

• To reduce poverty through social mobilisation and institution building.
• To enhance the household income of the rural poor by promoting diversified and sustainable livelihood options.
• To provide access to affordable financial services, including credit, insurance, and remittances.
• To ensure convergence with other government schemes and programmes for holistic development.

The vision of DAY-NRLM is to ensure that every poor household is part of a strong and sustainable self-help group (SHG) network, capable of improving social and economic outcomes through collective action.

Core Components and Implementation Framework

DAY-NRLM functions through a well-defined institutional architecture that operates from the national to village level, involving community institutions, government agencies, and partner organisations. Its implementation rests on four core components:

1. Social Mobilisation and Institution Building:
   • The mission focuses on mobilising rural poor households, particularly women, into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and federations at various levels (village, cluster, and district).
   • SHGs are community-based organisations that serve as platforms for collective savings, credit, and decision-making.
   • Capacity-building programmes strengthen leadership, financial literacy, and managerial skills among SHG members.
2. Financial Inclusion:
   • DAY-NRLM facilitates access to formal banking systems through SHG-Bank Linkage, ensuring easy access to credit and savings facilities.
   • Revolving funds, community investment funds, and interest subvention schemes are provided to SHGs for expanding livelihood activities.
   • The mission also promotes digital financial inclusion and financial literacy at the grassroots level.
3. Livelihood Promotion:
   • Livelihood interventions are designed around agriculture, livestock, non-farm activities, and enterprise development.
   • The mission provides skill development training and promotes microenterprises through initiatives such as the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) and the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP).
   • Producers’ groups and collectives are established to improve market linkages, value addition, and income generation.
4. Convergence and Partnerships:
   • NRLM promotes convergence with schemes such as MGNREGA, National Rural Health Mission, and National Skill Development Mission, among others.
   • Partnerships with NGOs, financial institutions, and private enterprises are encouraged to scale up livelihood opportunities and ensure technical support.

Institutional Structure

The mission operates through a multi-tiered structure:

• National Level: Managed by the National Mission Management Unit (NMMU) under the Ministry of Rural Development.
• State Level: Implemented through State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs), which adapt the mission strategy to state-specific conditions.
• District and Block Level: Managed by District and Block Mission Management Units that provide technical and administrative support.
• Community Level: The most critical tier, where Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Village Organisations (VOs), and Cluster-Level Federations (CLFs) operate autonomously, ensuring community ownership.

Key Initiatives under DAY-NRLM

Several sub-schemes and initiatives have been launched under DAY-NRLM to address specific livelihood dimensions:

• Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP): Focuses on empowering women farmers through sustainable agriculture practices, capacity-building, and access to resources.
• Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP): Supports rural entrepreneurs by providing business skill training, seed capital, and credit linkages.
• Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY): Promotes rural transport services operated by SHG members to enhance rural connectivity and income generation.
• National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP): Supported by the World Bank, it aims to promote digital finance, enterprise development, and value chain interventions.

Achievements and Impact

Since its inception, DAY-NRLM has made significant progress in empowering rural women and promoting self-reliant communities.

• Over 9 crore women have been mobilised into nearly 90 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across the country.
• Substantial growth has been recorded in SHG-bank linkages, with cumulative credit disbursements exceeding ₹5 lakh crore.
• Rural women have diversified income sources through small enterprises, dairy, poultry, tailoring, and local crafts.
• Enhanced participation of women in local governance has been one of the mission’s most transformative social outcomes.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite its widespread reach, the mission faces certain operational and structural challenges:

• Regional disparities in SHG formation and credit linkage persist, especially in remote and tribal areas.
• Capacity-building and skill-training activities are sometimes inadequate or irregular.
• Market access and sustainability of microenterprises remain critical bottlenecks.
• Dependence on external funding and delays in fund release affect project implementation.

Efforts are ongoing to address these issues through technology-enabled monitoring systems, stronger partnerships with the private sector, and integration of digital livelihood platforms.