Rs. 520 cr special package certified under NRLM for Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh

New Delhi, Oct 15: With an aim at increasing household incomes in rural areas, the BJP-led government will extend its National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) to the two newly created Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a special package of ₹520 crores to extend the NRLM to the two Union territories.

 

 

"The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has approved a Special Package worth Rs. 520 crore in the UTs of J&K and Ladakh for a period of five years till FY 2023-24 and ensure funding of DeendayalAntyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) in the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh on a demand-driven basis without linking allocation with poverty ratio during this extended period," the Ministry said in a statement.

 

The special package will bring 10,58,000 women into the ambit of the program, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters. He also assured that the extension of the NRLM will ensure that two-thirds of the rural families in these UTs are covered under this program. Across India, there were 63 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) with seven crore women as members who had taken ₹3,00,000 crores from banks and financial institutions as loans, Javadekar said. Of these loans only 2.3% were not repaid, he said.

 

Launched in 2011, the DAY-NRLM aims at eliminating rural poverty through the promotion of multiple livelihoods for rural poor households across the country. It seeks to reach out to all rural poor households, estimated at about 10 crore households, and impact their livelihoods through universal social mobilization by inter alia organizing one-woman member from each rural poor household into Self Help Groups (SHGs), their training and capacity building, facilitating their micro-livelihoods plans, and enabling them to implement their livelihoods plans through accessing financial resources from their own institutions and the banks.