NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a special package of Rs 520 crore for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Addressing a press conference, Javadekar said the package for Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) will ensure sufficient funds to both the Union Territories.
He said the decision is in line with Centre's aim to universalise all centrally sponsored beneficiary-oriented schemes in J&K and Ladakh in a time-bound manner.
The Cabinet has approved a special package of Rs 520 crore for the UTs for a period of five years till financial year 2023-24 and decided to ensure funding of DAY-NRLM in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on a demand-driven basis without linking allocation with poverty ratio during this extended period, the Rural Development Ministry said in a statement.
This is based on the outcomes of the evaluation pointing to the potential of the Mission to improve the quality of life of rural households and women empowerment and given the changed circumstances in the UTs of J&K and Ladakh, it added.
For technical reasons, Javadekar said, very few women were identified and were eligible in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for the programme.
So the criterion has been changed for the two UTs.
Around two-third rural women will be covered and 10.58 lakh women will get the benefit from the special package of Rs 520 crore for the next five years, he said.
Javadekar said there are around 63 lakh self-help groups in the country and 7 crore women are members of these groups and they have been granted Rs 3 lakh crore loan, of which only 2.3 per cent are NPAs.
The Modi government aims to reach out to 10 crore women in the country through this scheme, of which over 10 lakh will be from J&K and Ladakh.
DAY-NRLM is a centrally sponsored programme that aims at eliminating rural poverty through promotion of multiple livelihoods and improved access to financial services for the estimated 10 crore rural poor households.
It involves working with community institutions through community professionals in the spirit of self-help, making it different from the previous poverty eradication programmes.