Ministry of Rural Development today tied an MoU with NGO Pradan to serve as a resource and support organisation for the Rs 4000 crore National Rural Livelihood Mission all over the country.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh acknowledged the contribution made by Pradan towards the beginning of the self help group approach to development and said that the NRLM would now take this forward by linking it to social goals and gender rights.
Pradan which is funded by Ford Foundation and Gates Foundation would extend its expertise in the field of livelihood in the form of an organisation called the NRLM Support Organisation or NSO which would set up units in states from which NRLM state missions can access guidance in policy and capacity building.
The NGO will also partner the Government in implementing the NRLM in Naxal affected districts of the country, Ramesh said.
The NRLM which presides over 25 lakh self help groups targets creation of 60 lakh SHGs in five years, he said. The NSO would assist the state and central NRLM missions in guiding these SHGs not only to bank linkage but to definite social goals. Three of the goals identified, has been to help women farmers groups under Mahila Krishak Sasaktikaran Yojana increase their earnings by reduced input costs, training SHGs in achieving social goals like total sanitation, or setting up community kitchens to tackly mal nutrition, and putting an end to trafficking of tribal women by providing them livelihoods.
The MoU also provides that the NGO would implement the NRLM projects in two specific forms of livelihood in select Naxal affected districts in four states. These areas are tassar sillk cultivation and marketing, and income generation for women farmers.
Pradan founder Deep Joshi said that the partnership between Government and civil society was a good way to come close to the people. In a way the wheel has come full circle, he said, pointing out that Pradan in the 80s started with experiments with self help groups before these became part of Government programmes. Now that Pradan would be a resource pool for the programme is a great step, he said.
NSO is to give a road map for NRLM soon and chalk out action plans for various states in consultation with the state missions, Pradan Executive Director Naarendranath who will also head the NSO said.
