There are multiple initiatives under the Government of India set for the welfare and protection of the citizens. They are centred around different Indian states, some specific to the zones, while others are active nationally. 

One of the notable ones launched for the people’s livelihood in rural communities was National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 2010-2011. The program was a plan under the Ministry of Rural Development of MoRD, India, and got economic backing from the World Bank. Here, we discuss that in further detail. 

What is the National Rural Livelihoods Mission?

In the context of what is livelihood, it refers to the process of getting the standard lifestyle necessities. However, despite the better condition of the country’s GDP in recent years, a large portion of the rural population is under the poverty line. This is noticeable at different levels and highly affects government management conditions. 

To prepare sustainable and efficient institutions for the rural citizens to improve their household income, the Government of India established the NRLM or National Rural Livelihoods Mission in 2010. 

Despite the numerous efforts, rural poverty continues to be a significant challenge to the Government at all levels. It later got the name “Aajeevika” in June 2011. It is one of the most significant governmental initiatives in the modern history of India for reducing poverty. Notably, it aimed to flourish the livelihood and conditions of at least 70 million households in the rural community. 

The program was activated in around 12 Indian states. It focused on improving the economic condition of families in the agricultural landscape, focusing on increasing wage employment and paid self-employment opportunities. 

What was the Main Objective of the Livelihoods Mission?

The main objective that this mission focuses on is to improve the livelihood of different poor households. Plus, it aims to give them the right opportunities to lead sustainable lifestyles and work lives to cross the BPL or Below Poverty Line. 

The institutions under here aim to improve access to formal credit and public services for the households. Plus, it assures better diversification in the community; one can strengthen their livelihood with NRLM support. 

NRLM Approach to the Initiative or the Main Pillars of Operations 

The NRLM program focuses on three main pillars.

• It helps generate the skillset of the individuals for the external job market.
• The program aims to expand and enhance the pre-existing livelihood possibilities for the poor.
• It tries to nurture and grow opportunities for the entrepreneurs of micro-enterprises or self-employed individuals. 

Key Features of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission 

To work under the motto and work under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, you must understand its main components. Here are the notable features of this scheme. 

• One household member, preferably the female member, would work under the SHG (Self-Help Group) network, with bank-linkage arrangements. 
• There are four components to the mission. One is centred on community institutions, social mobilization, and capacity building, while the second focuses on promoting livelihood. The other two components are convergence and financial inclusion. 
• The SHGs are authorized under the scheme and operate at the higher and rural levels. They would assure the space, give support, and provide support, reducing dependency on third-party agencies. 
• A participatory type of social assessment would get organized to identify and rank every rural household in terms of their vulnerability level. The officials would study to ascertain the poorest households living under the BPL, the disabled individuals, women-led or single women homes, migrant labor, and the landless class. Under the mission, they would get priority.
• The mission would provide support with enhancing the existing skill set that the youth in the villages have. Then, it would give the proper training, placement, and self-employment options via innovation, Rural Self-Employment Institutions (RSETIs), market support, and infrastructure creation. 
• It focuses on improving the capacity and training the poor in the question of institutional management, credit absorption, livelihoods, and credit-worthiness assessment. 
• With SHG supervision, the CIF or Community Investment Support Fund is provisioned for advancing loans or supporting socio-economic activities with a collective/common objective. 
• SHGs are getting the Revolving Fund to optimize the condition of their financial and institutional management capacity for generating suitable credit history for applicants. 
• Interest Subvention provision on loans for the SHGs to bridge the gap between the 7% credit rate and bank-specific lending rate. 
• There is a financial inclusion structure available under the mission. The scheme introduces the association of financial institutions for loss of life/health coverage, bank-related lending, etc. 
• It collaborates with different agencies and ministries that are focusing on rural poverty reduction plans. 
• The scheme would connect at the district level with PRIs (Panchayat Raj Institutions) and DRDAs (District Rural Development Agencies). 

Conclusion

The National Rural Livelihoods Mission is a suitable initiative under the Government of India for improving the livelihood conditions of the rural citizenry. It is a scheme that aims to give better employment opportunities for the poor and support entrepreneurs with business plans in establishing their projects. 

With rural institutions and teams under the NRLM, the poorest of the poor households can improve their level from under the BPL- that is the main objective. Many significant components of the scheme centre around this primary objective.