Context: Recently, the Ministry of Rural Development’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) launched “Sangathan Se Samridhhi– Leaving no Rural Woman Behind”.

About the Campaign

• It is a national campaign under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Samaveshi Vikaas

• Aim: To mobilize 10 crore women from vulnerable and marginalized rural households under the Self-Help Group (SHG) fold.

• Currently, 9 crore women already part of the SHG movement

• Benefits: sharing by SHG champions, mobilizing eligible women, training new SHG members, reviving defunct SHGs, and opening SHG bank accounts

The campaign will be organized in all states and form more than 1.1 lakh SHGs through interventions like:

• Organising general Body Meetings of Village Organizations

• Experience sharing by SHG champions to motivate left-out households to join SHGs

• Conducting Community Resource Person drives

• Opening SHG bank accounts, and creation of a common database of SHGs promoted by other stakeholders.

Need for Such a Campaign

• India’s rural population accounts for 65% of its total population, and it is crucial to accord women from these areas all possible opportunities to enable them to contribute significantly to making India a 5 trillion dollar economy.

• When women in such a big number become part of SHGs, it will automatically have a considerable effect on the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

What are SHGs?

• They are small informal groups of 10-20 individuals, mostly women from similar social and economic backgrounds, who come together to form a group for mutual support and help.

• SHGs encourage members to save regularly, and these savings are then pooled to provide loans to members for various purposes such as starting a small business, paying for their children’s education or medical expenses, etc.

About Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)

• Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme

• Launched in: 2011 (as a restructured version of SGSY), renamed in 2015 as Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM)

• Objective: Creating institutional platforms for the rural poor, including at least one member from an eligible household into the SHG fold, enable SHGs to increase household income

• World Bank Support: Aid in part through investment support by the World Bank

• Target: Cover 7 crore rural poor households and 10 Cr women

• Overdraft Facility: Rs 5,000 available to verified SHG members under DAY-NRLM having accounts under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana with Banks

• Working: Through Social, Community, Financial mobilization and convergence.