Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Panchayati Raj and Food Processing Industries, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar today released a compendium on best practices gathered from all over India on how DAY-NRLM is addressing gender issues through Social Action Committees of SHG federations. The compendium was released at a virtual event organised to share insights and stories from Village Organisation Social Action Committees, who have been at the forefront of providing support to women and girls.The compendium on best practices was releasedin the presence of Minister of State Smt. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyotiand senior officials from the Ministry of Rural Development, State Governments and members of Village Organisations and Cluster Level federations from all states through an online event.

The virtual event highlighted voices of women and girls who have sought support from the Village Organisation Social Action Committees to address a range of issues – such as prevention of child marriages, violence against women, the practice of witch hunting; generating employment and supporting livelihoods for women; providing legal redressal and counselling through formal mechanisms, as well as bringing vulnerable and marginalised communities into the fold of inclusive development and ensuring that their voices are represented at these institutions. The case studies from 23 States highlight the processes, mechanisms, strategies and plans for replicating and scaling these gender interventions to advance gender equality and end all forms of discrimination against women and girls.

Union Minister appreciated the efforts of the Ministry for providing support to women and girls to voice their concerns and seek support through the institutional mechanisms set up by DAY-NRLM. He lauded the efforts of the women SHGs, for not only addressing several challenges that they face within their households and communities, but also the contributions they are making towards societal reforms and addressing social issues to advance India’s growth and development.

He spoke of the significance of these efforts towards making India stronger and more self-reliant, by building local governance mechanisms to support the most marginalised and vulnerable women and girls. As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, launched by the Prime Minister of India to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence to share the glorious traditions and progress made in several areas, the self-help group movement in India showcases the resilience and fortitude shown by India’s women.

The Minister highlighted the significant role that SHG members and the Social Action Committees can play in spreading awareness about ways to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, as well as to encourage people to get vaccinated.

On this occasion, the Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State, talked about the extensive progress made by women and girls who are part of the SHGs and have used platforms like social action committees to end regressive practices and ensure that their aspirations are realised. She encouraged other States to draw inspiration from the stories highlighted in the compendium on advancing gender equality through these community-based institutions.

Deendayal AntyodayaYojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a flagship scheme implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development to address multi-dimensional poverty through building strong institutions of the poor. The unique feature of this scheme is that poor women from different cross sections of class and caste form into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations, provide financial, economic and social development services to their members for enhancing their income and quality of life. Community Resource persons (SHG members who came out of poverty through SHG platform) are acting as change agents and supporting in the implementation of the programme. Currently, NRLM covers 6,758 blocks, mobilizing 76.2 million rural households into 69.9 lakh SHGs.

With over 76 million women mobilised to be part of one of India’s largest livelihoods programme, the DAY-NRLM holds great promise for advancing women’s socio-economic empowerment by organising them into SHGs and federations of the rural poor. To address various social development issues, the SHGs federations with support of their Social Action Committees have initiated various interventions.

Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha,Secretary, Rural Development, Government of India, emphasized the importance of training SHGs and their federations to eventually serve as self-governing institutions for poor women.

Smt. Alka Upadhyaya,Additional Secretary, Smt. Nita Kejrewal,Joint Secretary,Ministry of Rural Development,also highlighted the extensive work undertaken by DAY-NRLM to institutionalise gender across all its work and ensure that community-based platforms like social action committees are further strengthened to promote equitable access to rights, entitlements and a decent living for women and girls. Ministry officials and State Governments also attended the virtual event where Community Resource Persons (CRPs) shared the impact of Social Action Committees in addressing a myriad of issues raised by women and girls and how institutional mechanisms, convergence across departments and services, as well as mobilisation efforts played a critical role towards these efforts.

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APS/MG