Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana to NRLM: Moving from Individual Credit to Institutional Federations
“SGSY focused on individual enterprise subsidies and short-lived self-help groups. In 2011, the Radhakrishna Committee recommendations converted the intervention into NRLM (Aajeevika), focusing on multi-tier community federations and social capital.”
Bring assisted poor families (Swarozgaris) above the poverty line through micro-enterprise development, asset bank credit, and government capital subsidies.
District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) identifying beneficiaries through local bank branches, with commercial banks sanctioning tied capital subsidies.
Severe non-performing assets among individual beneficiaries, corruption in subsidy disbursement, weak training, and failure to sustain individual informal enterprises in rural markets.
Federated women Self-Help Groups (Village Organisations and Cluster Federations) under NRLM achieved >96% bank loan repayment rates and substantial institutional resilience.
What Should Be Retained, Redesigned, or Revived?
Policies that invest in durable community institutions create institutional memory and capacity far beyond direct transfer schemes.
Verified Administrative & Evaluation Sources
- Report of the Committee on Credit Related Issues under SGSY (Radhakrishna Committee)
- NRLM Implementation Framework, MoRD (2011)
- World Bank Technical Assistance Papers on Rural Livelihoods in India
- Reserve Bank of India Master Circulars on Priority Sector Lending