Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY)

Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) is a comprehensive and well-structured poverty alleviation and livelihood enhancement scheme. It is one of the flagship initiatives of the Government of India, launched to achieve inclusive growth by focusing on the upliftment of the urban and rural poor. The scheme integrates the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) under a unified framework.

The name Antyodaya reflects the core philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, whose birth anniversary is celebrated on September 25, 2014, the day the scheme was officially launched. The term signifies the 'upliftment of the poorest of the poor'.

Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY)

Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) is a flagship initiative that integrates India’s poverty alleviation efforts under a unified and comprehensive framework. It was designed to enhance the incomes of poor households through sustainable livelihoods and improved access to financial services.

The scheme is an umbrella program that houses two distinct sub-missions, each targeting a specific demographic:

1. Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

2. Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

The mission was established by restructuring and renaming pre-existing livelihood schemes. The rural component, originally launched as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 2011, was later renamed DAY-NRLM in November 2015. Similarly, the urban component was renamed DAY-NULM (Rashtriya Shahri Aajeevika Mission) to ensure a cohesive approach to poverty reduction nationwide.

Objectives of the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana

The primary goal of the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana is to reduce poverty by enabling poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities.

• Sustainable Livelihoods: To ensure an appreciable improvement in the livelihoods of the poor on a sustainable basis.

• Grassroots Institutions: To build strong, self-managed institutions of the poor, particularly Self Help Groups (SHGs) for women.

• Financial Inclusion: To facilitate access to institutional credit, affordable financial services, and market linkages for the poor and their institutions.

• Skill Development: To provide market-oriented skill training to the rural and urban youth, enhancing their employability and capacity for entrepreneurship.

• Social Empowerment: To empower women and vulnerable sections of society, giving them a voice and a role in decision-making and access to their entitlements.

Components of Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana

The scheme is a dual-pronged mission, with dedicated wings for rural and urban poverty alleviation.

Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development.

Mission: To mobilize rural poor households into effective and efficient institutional platforms, enabling them to increase household income. The mission aims to cover approximately 7 crore rural poor households through Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federated institutions.

Core Pillars and Key Features:

• Universal Social Mobilisation and Institution Building: Bringing at least one woman member from each rural poor household into the SHG network. These groups are strengthened through practising ‘Panchasutras’ (regular meetings, regular savings, regular inter-loaning, timely repayment, and up-to-date books of accounts).

• Financial Inclusion: Linking SHGs with banks for collateral-free credit and providing two types of community funds as catalytic capital:

• Revolving Fund (RF): Provided to SHGs to strengthen their financial management.

• Community Investment Support Fund (CIF): Given to Federations of SHGs to advance loans and undertake collective socio-economic activities.

• Interest Subvention: Providing a subsidy on the interest rate of loans availed by SHGs.

• Sustainable Livelihoods Promotion: Supporting existing livelihoods and tapping new opportunities in farm and non-farm sectors through sub-schemes like:

• Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP): Focused on empowering women in agriculture by promoting sustainable agro-ecological practices.

• Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP): Promotes micro-enterprises and start-ups in rural areas.

• Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY): Focuses on providing safe and affordable community-monitored rural transport services.

Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Mission: To reduce the poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment.

Key Components and Strategies:

• Social Mobilisation and Institution Development (SM&ID): Mobilising the urban poor into SHGs and their federations.

• Employment through Skills Training and Placement (EST&P): Providing skill training to the urban poor to prepare them for market-based job opportunities.

• Self-Employment Programme (SEP): Providing financial assistance through bank credit and interest subsidy to individuals and groups of urban poor to set up micro-enterprises.

• Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV): Addressing the livelihood concerns of street vendors by facilitating access to suitable vending spaces, institutional credit, social security, and skills.

• Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH): Providing permanent, 24-hour shelters equipped with essential services like water, sanitation, and electricity to the urban homeless in a phased manner.

Features and Pillars of DAY-NRLM

The success of the rural component, DAY-NRLM, lies in its strong emphasis on community ownership and self-reliance.

• Community Institutions: The structure involves a tiered approach, starting with SHGs at the village level, federating into Village Organisations (VOs), and further federating into Cluster Level Federations (CLFs).

• Community Resource Persons (CRPs): The mission relies on trained community members like Krishi Sakhis (agriculture experts), Pashu Sakhis (livestock experts), and Bank Sakhis (facilitating financial access) to provide services at the last mile.

• Demand-Driven Approach: The scheme follows a demand-driven strategy, giving states the flexibility to formulate their own poverty reduction action plans tailored to their specific needs.

Features and Components of DAY-NULM

The urban component, DAY-NULM, acknowledges the multi-dimensional vulnerabilities of the urban poor.

• Targeted Outreach: It specifically focuses on vulnerable segments of the urban population, including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), minorities, persons with disabilities, beggars, and domestic workers.

• City Livelihood Centres (CLCs): These are established to provide job and entrepreneurship-related information and services to the urban poor.

• Social Security Linkages: The mission strives to ensure the urban poor, including the homeless and street vendors, have access to various social security entitlements and public services.

Significance and Impact of Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana

The Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana is a monumental step towards inclusive growth and social justice, leading to a profound impact on marginalised communities.

• Women Empowerment: The scheme places women at the centre of its poverty alleviation strategy. By organising them into SHGs, it enhances their collective decision-making power, increases their financial independence, and improves their social status within the household and society.

• Financial Inclusion: The strong linkage between SHGs and the formal banking system has facilitated access to collateral-free loans, leading to a high repayment rate and establishing a reliable credit history for the poor.

• Poverty Reduction: By focusing on diversified and sustainable livelihood options—from agriculture enhancement through MKSP to micro-enterprise development through SVEP—the mission directly contributes to reducing rural and urban poverty and vulnerability.

• Holistic Development: The mission's multi-dimensional approach includes interventions in health, education, and sanitation, contributing to a better quality of life and social indicators for the poor.