SELF-HELP GROUP UNDER DAY-NRLM

1. At a Glance

• DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission) is the Ministry of Rural Development's flagship poverty-alleviation programme that organises rural poor women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) for thrift, credit and livelihood [1][2].
• It is the world's largest women-empowerment / micro-finance initiative, with 10.05 crore households mobilised into 90.91 lakh SHGs as of December 2025 [1].
• Critical for GS-II (welfare schemes, women) and GS-III (financial inclusion, rural economy).

2. Why in the News

• PIB release (3 Feb 2026) updating Parliament-style data: 10.05 cr households / 90.91 lakh SHGs mobilised; 50,548 Bank Sakhis deployed; institutionalisation of Community Based Recovery Mechanism (CBRM) at every bank branch [1].
• Continued scale-up of Lakhpati Didi and Namo Drone Didi outputs riding on the SHG architecture [4][5].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2010–11: NRLM launched by restructuring Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY, 1999) [2].
• 2015–16: Renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – NRLM [2].
• 2023: National campaign "Sangathan se Samriddhi" to mobilise 10 crore rural women into SHGs [2].
• 2023–26: Namo Drone Didi (15,000 drones to SHGs) operationalised [5].

4. Core Static Facts

• Parent Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Govt. of India [2].
• Predecessor: SGSY (1999) → NRLM (2011) → DAY-NRLM (2016) [2].
• Coverage (as on Jun 2024): 7,135 blocks, 742 districts, 28 States + 6 UTs [2].
• Households mobilised: 10.05 crore; SHGs: 90.91 lakh (Dec 2025) [1].
• Bank Sakhis deployed: 50,548 (Feb 2026 release); earlier 47,952 (mid-2025) [1][3].
• Cumulative credit to SHGs: > ₹11 lakh crore [3].
• CBRM: institutionalised at every bank branch to ensure regular repayment [1].
• Monitoring portal: banklinkage.lokos.in (NRLM SHG-Bank Linkage Portal) [3].
• Sub-schemes/outputs: Lakhpati Didi (₹1 lakh+ annual HH income), Namo Drone Didi (Min. of Agriculture & FW; 80% subsidy up to ₹8 lakh on drones to 15,000 SHGs, 2023-24 to 2025-26) [4][5].

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

• Economic: SHG-Bank Linkage has channelled >₹11 lakh crore of formal credit to poor women, deepening financial inclusion and reducing dependence on moneylenders [3].
• Social/Gender: Female-only mobilisation model; built community institutions (SHG → Village Org → Cluster Level Federation), enabling agency, leadership and reduction in gender-based exclusion [2].
• Administrative: Decentralised delivery via State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs); cadre of community resource persons (Bank Sakhi, Krishi Sakhi, Pashu Sakhi); CBRM ensures NPA control at branch level [1].
• Financial-Inclusion / Banking: Bank Sakhi acts as last-mile interface for loan identification, application, enhancement and follow-up; complements Business Correspondent (BC) model — 50,000 SHG women dedicated as BCs since 2021 [1].
• Governance: Aligns with Article 39(a)/(b) Directive Principles and SDG-1 (no poverty) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• Feb 2026 (PIB): Latest data — 90.91 lakh SHGs, 10.05 cr households; 50,548 Bank Sakhis [1].
• 2025: SHG-Bank Linkage portal banklinkage.lokos.in operational; AP leads bank-loan disbursement [3].
• 2024–25: Namo Drone Didi operational guidelines released by Dept of Agri & FW [5].
• 2023: "Sangathan se Samriddhi" campaign to onboard 10 cr women launched [2].

7. Prelims Hooks

• DAY-NRLM is implemented by Ministry of Rural Development, not Ministry of Women & Child Development [2].
• Launched as NRLM in 2011; renamed DAY-NRLM in 2015-16 [2].
• Restructured from SGSY (1999) [2].
• Bank Sakhi is a community cadre under DAY-NRLM, not under RBI/NABARD [1].
• CBRM = Community Based Recovery Mechanism, at each bank branch [1].
• Lakhpati Didi: SHG woman earning ≥ ₹1 lakh/year; an output, not a separate scheme [4].
• Namo Drone Didi: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare (NOT Rural Development); 80% subsidy capped at ₹8 lakh; target 15,000 drones (2023-24 to 2025-26) [5].
• SHGs accessed > ₹11 lakh crore in cumulative bank credit [3].
• Coverage: 28 States + 6 UTs, 742 districts (Jun 2024) [2].
• 90.91 lakh SHGs as of Dec 2025 [1].
• Drone Didi training: 15-day mandatory pilot + agri training [5].
• Bank-Linkage portal hosted at lokos.in subdomain [3].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections; mechanisms, laws, institutions for women empowerment.
• GS-III: Inclusive growth, financial inclusion, micro-finance, rural economy.
• Plausible stems: 1. "DAY-NRLM has transformed SHGs from thrift groups into community institutions of poverty governance." Discuss. 2. Examine the role of Bank Sakhis and CBRM in deepening SHG-Bank linkage in rural India. 3. "Lakhpati Didi and Namo Drone Didi mark a shift from social mobilisation to enterprise creation under DAY-NRLM." Critically analyse.

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) — direct predecessor.
• National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) — urban twin under MoHUA.
• PM SVANidhi / Mudra Yojana — parallel micro-credit channels.
• Business Correspondent (BC) model / RBI Financial Inclusion — Bank Sakhi linkage.
• PMAY-G, MGNREGA — converging rural welfare ecosystem of MoRD.
• Namo Drone Didi — Min. of Agriculture's SHG-tied scheme.
• NABARD SHG-BLP (1992) — origin of SHG-bank linkage in India.
• Article 243G & 11th Schedule — Panchayati Raj convergence.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Confusing DAY-NRLM (rural, MoRD) with DAY-NULM (urban, MoHUA).
• Attributing Namo Drone Didi to MoRD — it is under Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare.
• Treating Lakhpati Didi as a standalone scheme — it is an output under DAY-NRLM.
• Confusing Bank Sakhi (SHG-bank liaison) with Banking Correspondent (BC) — overlapping but distinct cadres.
• Year confusion: NRLM (2011) vs DAY-NRLM rename (2015-16); SGSY launched 1999.