How does the National Rural Livelihood Mission seek to improve livelihood options of rural poor?

1. By setting up a large number of new manufacturing industries and agribusiness centres in rural areas
2. By strengthening ‘self-help groups’ and providing skill development
3. By supplying seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-sets and micro-irrigation equipment free of cost to farmers

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2012 Prelims]

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)        

Explanation:

National Rural Livelihood Mission-

• It was launched in 2011 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
• It is a poverty alleviation project under the Ministry of Rural Development of GoI.
• The basic idea behind this program is to organize the poor into SHG (Self Help Groups) groups and make them capable of self-employment. Hence statement 2 is only correct.
• Mission of NRLM – To reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities resulting in an appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong and sustainable grassroots institutions of the poor.
• The scheme was succeeded by Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana on 25 September 2015.