Srinagar: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Thursday directed the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) to strengthen women-led community institutions through enhanced capacity building, institutional reforms and convergence with flagship government schemes to accelerate sustainable rural development across the Union Territory.
Chairning a review meeting of JKRLM Dulloo emphasized the importance of operationalizing Community Managed Training Centres (CMTCs) in all districts. He advocated for the integration of JKRLM with Mission YUVA and the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), aiming to involve approximately six lakh Self Help Group (SHG) members in entrepreneurship, skill development, and self-employment initiatives. Additionally, he called for the expansion of women-led food outlets, enhanced bank linkages for SHGs, simplified digital bookkeeping, and an independent national-level assessment of the Mission’s performance. The Chief Secretary instructed the Mission to develop a structured roadmap for creating master trainers to bolster SHGs, Village Organisations, and Cluster Level Federations, while utilizing YUVA Doots for outreach. He highlighted the necessity for deeper collaboration with Panchayati Raj Institutions to promote inclusive rural development. As reported by JKRLM, the Mission has successfully mobilized over 8.14 lakh women into 96,595 Self Help Groups, 7,546 Village Organisations, and 652 Cluster Level Federations across all 20 districts, 285 blocks, and 4,291 Gram Panchayats. It has provided more than ₹532 crore in capitalisation support and facilitated cumulative bank credit exceeding ₹3,449 crore, with a non-performing asset (NPA) level of 0.91 percent. Furthermore, officials noted that JKRLM currently supports 7.35 lakh Mahila Kisans in 5,255 villages, has promoted 11,879 enterprises under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP), and has enabled 2.40 lakh rural women to attain Lakhpati Didi status. The Mission aims to create 3.64 lakh Lakhpati Didis by 2029 and plans to establish regional aggregation centres in Jammu and Srinagar to enhance the marketing of SHG products.
