Govt launches Sangathan se Samridhhi to mobilise 100 mn women into SHGs

The primary goal of the campaign is to mobilise disadvantaged rural communities unaware of the benefits of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission

The Ministry of Rural Development's Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) on Tuesday launched “Sangathan Se Samridhhi– Leaving no Rural Woman Behind."  This special drive will continue till June 30, 2023.

Goal of 'Sangathan Se Samriddhi' campaign

The national campaign under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Samaveshi Vikaas, is aimed at mobilising 100 million women from eligible rural households and aspires to bring all the vulnerable and marginalised rural households under the Self-Help Group (SHG) fold so that they can benefit from the programme.

The primary goal of the campaign is to mobilise disadvantaged rural communities unaware of the benefits of the DAY-NRLM program.

The campaign will be organised in all states, with the goal of forming more than 110,000 SHGs during the period through interventions such as:

• Organising general body meetings of village organisations
• Sharing experience by SHG champions to motivate left-out households to join SHGs
• Conducting community resource person drives
• Mobilising eligible women from PMAY-G beneficiary households
• Training new SHG members
• Reviving defunct SHGs
• Opening SHG offices

Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh launched the campaign in New Delhi, in the presence of dignitaries and officials from other ministries, as well as lead partner banks.
 

Shailesh Kumar Singh, Secretary - Rural Development, Charanjit Singh, Additional Secretary - Rural Livelihoods, and Smriti Sharan, Joint Secretary - Rural Livelihoods also attended on behalf of the Ministry and DAY-NRLM.

Other notable guests included CEOs, mission directors, and senior mission staff from the state rural livelihood missions.

Leaving no rural woman behind

Speaking on the occasion, Giriraj Singh said, “The rural population accounts for 65 per cent of India’s total population. Hence, it is extremely important that women from these areas are accorded all possible opportunities to enable them to contribute significantly into making our country a $5 trillion economy."

"When 100 million SHG members all become LakhpatiDidis, it will automatically have a considerable effect on the country’s GDP. And this was the vision with which DAY-NRLM was started so that at least one woman member from every rural household can join a Self Help Group and take advantage of the opportunities and financial support offered under the programme to improve their livelihoods," he said.

What exactly is the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana?

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA). The government has allocated Rs 500 crore for this programme.

The scheme brings together the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).

The entire urban population will be covered under this scheme by covering all 4,041 cities and towns under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban areas. All urban poverty alleviation programmes currently cover only 790 towns and cities.

Objective of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana

The objective of the campaign is to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in a significant improvement in their livelihoods on a long-term basis, through the development of strong grassroots level institutions of the poor.

The mission would aim to provide shelters with essential services to the urban homeless in stages. In addition, the mission would address the livelihood concerns of urban street vendors by facilitating access to suitable spaces, institutional credit, social security, and skills for urban street vendors to access emerging market opportunities.