New Delhi: In a significant move towards inclusive empowerment, the National Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (NRLPS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BRAC International. BRAC International, a Global South-led organization with a mission to empower people and communities, will collaborate with NRLPS to include the poorest of the poor under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), a flagship program under MoRD.
The MoU was formalized by Additional Secretary and CEO of NRLPS, Shri Charanjit Singh, and Country lead for India, BRAC International, Ms. Shweta S Banerjee. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Joint Secretary (RL-1), DAY-NRLM, Smt Smriti Sharan, Director, DAY-NRLM, Mr. Raman Wadhwa, and Executive Director, BRAC International, Mr. Shameran Abed.
Shri Charanjit Singh, in his address, highlighted the significant milestone of mobilizing over 100 million women members into community institutions under the DAY-NRLM mission. He emphasized the crucial role of partnerships and expressed confidence in leveraging BRAC’s global experience to reach those who are furthest behind.
Smt Smriti Sharan stated, “This partnership is taking shape at a crucial juncture for DAY-NRLM, which has been steadfastly dedicated to universal and inclusive mobilization. With 100 million rural poor households mobilized already, our focus now shifts to uplifting ‘lakhpati didis’ through Samaveshi Aajeevika, an inclusive livelihood program, while also ensuring the inclusion of the most marginalized in the SHG movement.”
Mr. Shameran Abed expressed gratitude to both DAY-NRLM and the BRAC India team for their dedication in recognizing their respective strengths and coming to an agreement to sign the MoU. He conveyed BRAC’s readiness to collaborate with the Ministry in facilitating Samaveshi Aajeevika with the government taking the lead.
Samaveshi Aajeevika aims to build self-confidence, social inclusion, and prosperity through inclusive livelihoods at the last mile. The program will introduce holistic productive inclusion strategies to improve the lives of excluded populations. It will adapt a globally tested and proven “Graduation approach” to the DAY-NRLM program to reach households facing difficulties in benefiting from the SHG net.
Founded in Bangladesh in 1972, BRAC now works in 17 countries, partnering with over 100 million people, and delivering cost-effective, evidence-backed interventions. One such intervention is the globally recognized “Graduation approach,” taken up by private organizations and governments, and extensively evaluated with positive results.