UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will launch the Central government’s flagship programme National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) at Banswara in Rajasthan on Friday. The Union rural development ministry is targeting over nine crore BPL families in the next seven years through self-help groups under the programme.
Union rural development minister Vilasrao Dashmukh on Wednesday told reporters that the government is looking at banks to extend over `6,000-crore loans to SHGs as part of the flagship programme.
NRLM has been basically a restructured scheme of Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana launched in 1999.
Mr Deshmukh said that the ministry has the budget of `3,000 crores for the current financial year for NRLM. He was briefing the media at a pre-launch conference.
The new model of NRLM is also looking ahead to make a shift from the present allocation-based strategy to a demand-driven initiative.
“The states will have the flexibility to formulate their own livelihoods-based poverty reduction action plans,” said Mr Deshmukh.
The minister also informed that under the new scheme, funds would be allotted through states to the rural BPL households through banks. “Women will be main target of our efforts as their socio-economic empowerment can bring in better results. We believe the best way to reaching out to the whole family is through the women,” added Mr Deshmukh.