SHGS FORMED UNDER DAY-NRLM

1. At a Glance

• DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission) has mobilised 92 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) covering 10.05 crore rural women across India [1].
• It is the Ministry of Rural Development's flagship strategy for women-led financial inclusion — combining SHG formation with financial literacy, institutional credit access, and micro-enterprise promotion [1].
• High-yield for Prelims (numbers, nomenclature, implementing bodies) and Mains GS-II/III (women empowerment, poverty alleviation, financial inclusion architecture).

2. Why in the News

• On 24 July 2026, PIB Delhi released updated figures: 92 lakh SHGs formed, 10.05 crore rural women covered, alongside a fresh push on a comprehensive Financial Literacy Programme run with RSETIs and banks, using Financial Literacy Community Resource Persons conducting village-level camps [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• DAY-NRLM originated as the restructured, mission-mode version of the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), launched by Ministry of Rural Development in 2011, renamed DAY-NRLM in 2015 [3].
• Predecessor: SGSY (1999) — subsidy-driven; DAY-NRLM shifted to a demand-driven, self-managed institutional-building approach for the rural poor [3].
• Key milestone: PM's Independence Day address (15 August 2023) set the "2 crore Lakhpati Didi" target (later enhanced to 6 crore) — SHG households earning sustainable annual income of ≥ ₹1 lakh [5].
• Progressive SHG mobilisation figures show near-linear growth: ~90.76 lakh SHGs / 10.04 crore women (earlier count) → 90.9 lakh SHGs (Jan 2025) → 92 lakh SHGs / 10.05 crore women (July 2026) [2][4].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Detail
Scheme	Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)
Implementing Ministry	Ministry of Rural Development [1]
SHGs formed	92 lakh [1]
Women covered	10.05 crore rural women [1]
Credit disbursed to women SHGs	Over ₹11 lakh crore (cumulative, through formal financial institutions) [2]
Bank Sakhi / BC Sakhi deployed	~1.07–1.44 lakh SHG members as Banking Correspondent Agents/Digipay Sakhis [5]
Mahila Kisans supported	4.6 crore [2]
Enterprises supported	3.74 lakh [2]
Lakhpati Didi target	6 crore households (revised up from 2 crore); >2 crore already achieved [5]
Financial literacy delivery partners	RSETIs (Rural Self Employment Training Institutes) + banks [1]
Modules covered	Financial Planning, Savings, Credit, Insurance, Pension, Enterprise Financing, Business Correspondence [1]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• Institutional credit linkage of ₹11 lakh crore+ builds a rural micro-credit ecosystem parallel to formal banking [2].
• Micro-enterprise promotion (3.74 lakh units) diversifies rural non-farm income sources [2].

Social

• Direct targeting of women (10.05 crore) makes it one of the largest women-centric welfare architectures globally [1].
• SHG platform doubles as a vehicle for social capital — collective bargaining, awareness on health, nutrition, education.

Administrative

• Delivery relies on a three-tier institutional architecture: SHG → Village Organisation → Cluster-Level Federation, requiring sustained state-level implementation capacity.
• Financial literacy delivery is decentralised via Community Resource Persons at village level — dependent on RSETI-bank convergence, a coordination bottleneck across states [1].

Governance/Ethical

• Bank Sakhi model embeds community members as last-mile banking agents, addressing accountability and trust deficits in formal banking outreach [5].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• Jan 2025: SHG count reported at 90.9 lakh, covering 10.05 crore women [4].
• 15 Aug 2023 → ongoing through 2025-26: Lakhpati Didi target scaled from 2 crore to 6 crore households; over 2 crore already achieved [5].
• 24 Jul 2026: PIB update — 92 lakh SHGs, 10.05 crore women; launch/reinforcement of comprehensive Financial Literacy Programme via RSETIs and banks with village-level camps [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• DAY-NRLM is implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, not the Ministry of Women & Child Development [1].
• As of the latest (Jul 2026) release: 92 lakh SHGs, 10.05 crore rural women covered [1].
• DAY-NRLM's financial literacy delivery partners: RSETIs and banks [1].
• Village-level financial literacy camps are run by Financial Literacy Community Resource Persons [1].
• Financial literacy modules include: Financial Planning, Savings, Credit, Insurance, Pension, Enterprise Financing, Business Correspondence [1].
• Cumulative credit disbursed to women SHGs exceeds ₹11 lakh crore [2].
• Lakhpati Didi = SHG household earning ≥ ₹1 lakh/annum sustainably [5].
• Lakhpati Didi target announced by PM on 15 August 2023 from Red Fort — originally 2 crore, later raised to 6 crore [5].
• DAY-NRLM has supported 4.6 crore Mahila Kisans [2].
• Over 1 lakh SHG members trained as Business Correspondent Agents/Digipay points (Bank Sakhis) [5].
• DAY-NRLM traces its institutional lineage to the restructuring of SGSY (Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, 1999) [3].
• DAY-NRLM was launched/restructured in 2011, renamed in 2015 [3].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections (women); issues relating to poverty and hunger; government policies and interventions.
• GS-III: Inclusive growth; mobilisation of resources; employment generation; role of self-help groups.
• Possible question stems:
• "Discuss the role of Self Help Groups under DAY-NRLM in advancing rural women's financial inclusion in India."
• "Critically examine the institutional architecture of DAY-NRLM and its effectiveness in achieving the Lakhpati Didi target."
• "How does the Bank Sakhi model under DAY-NRLM address last-mile banking access gaps in rural India?"

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• Lakhpati Didi Yojana — direct income-target sub-scheme built on SHG platform.
• RSETI (Rural Self Employment Training Institutes) — skilling backbone for DAY-NRLM's enterprise push.
• Financial Inclusion in India (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile trinity, PMJDY) — parallel financial inclusion architecture.
• SGSY and earlier rural livelihood missions — historical predecessor for comparative evolution questions.
• Business Correspondent (BC) model, RBI framework — regulatory basis for Bank Sakhis.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) — urban counterpart, common confusion point.
• Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) — sub-component for women farmers under NRLM.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Confusing DAY-NRLM (rural) with DAY-NULM (urban) — different target groups and implementing focus.
• Misattributing implementing ministry to Ministry of Women & Child Development instead of Ministry of Rural Development.
• Confusing SGSY (1999, subsidy-based) with DAY-NRLM (2011, demand-driven/SHG-based) as if they are the same scheme rather than predecessor-successor.
• Mixing up Lakhpati Didi's ₹1 lakh/year household income threshold with SHG loan ceilings or micro-credit limits.
• Treating RSETI as a separate ministry scheme rather than a delivery partner institution under DAY-NRLM's financial literacy programme.