Why India must revive its urban livelihoods scheme for women

The Centre’s decision to let its flagship urban livelihoods scheme lapse without a successor is injudicious and perplexing. This is particularly so given the positive impact that the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) has had on the social and financial empowerment of women. Since its launch in 2014, the scheme has helped create 10.02 lakh self-help groups (SHGs), covering more than one crore women across cities. To risk leaving these beneficiaries adrift for want of continued support would be to betray the promise contained in slogans about women-led development invoked by parties across the spectrum.

Significantly, concerns over funding and the policy vacuum created by the end of NULM in October 2024, cut across party lines. Of the five states that have flagged the issue — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura — only the first two are Opposition-ruled. All five have sought funding to ensure continued support to SHGs and prevent disruption to their access to institutional credit and bank linkages. Addressing these concerns is critical to the larger goals of poverty alleviation and support to women’s entrepreneurship. There is ample evidence of SHGs’ capacity to advance women’s social and economic empowerment — by improving access to credit and skills, building financial literacy and leadership, and increasing self-confidence and mobility. The impact of initiatives such as Didi ki Rasoi and Bank Sakhis under Bihar’s JEEViKA scheme shows how such programmes can put money in women’s hands while shifting them from dependent household roles to decision-makers. Kerala’s Kudumbashree offers an even more expansive model, evolving from credit groups into a network involved in community kitchens, waste collection and training SHGs in other states.

States, too, must do their part. They have found resources for cash-transfer schemes; they must prioritise programmes for women that build enduring economic capacity. SHGs are institutions through which women acquire skills, networks, and a greater say in households and communities. To ensure these gains are sustained, efforts must be directed towards ensuring access to training, mentorship and institutional support. Going forward, it is not enough to expand SHG numbers — investment must also be made in the human resources, infrastructure, credit linkages and market networks that allow them to thrive.