How does the National Rural Livelihood Mission seek to improve livelihood options of rural poor?
- 1.By setting up a large number of new manufacturing industries and agribusiness centres in rural areas.
- 2.By strengthening 'self-help groups' and providing skill development.
- 3.By supplying seeds, fertilisers, diesel pump-sets and micro-irrigation equipment free of cost to farmers.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Only statement 2 is correct. NRLM works through the poor's own grassroots institutions, mainly Self-Help Groups, and helps poor households reach self-employment and skilled wage employment. It does not set up industries itself or hand out farm inputs free.
- ✗ 1. NRLM does not build manufacturing industries or agribusiness centres. It helps poor households reach self-employment and wage jobs through their own institutions, credit and skills.
- ✓ 2. The Mission's core strategy is to build strong institutions of the poor, chiefly SHGs and their federations. It supports them with capacity building, a revolving fund, capital subsidy and skill-based employment.
- ✗ 3. The financial support is a revolving fund and capital subsidy to SHGs, plus interest subsidy on bank loans. It is not free supply of seeds, fertilisers, pump-sets or irrigation equipment to farmers.
Remember · NRLM (Aajeevika, 2011) works through SHGs and federations of the poor, with credit, capital support and skilling. It does not give free farm inputs or build factories.
Sources
- NRLM Framework for Implementation (Ministry of Rural Development), hosted on msrls.nic.in ↗ “To reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong grassroots institutions of the poor. … Subsidy would be available in the form of revolving fund and capital subsidy. The Revolving Fund would be provided to the SHGs (where more than 70% members are from BPL households)”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
