Deliberations focus on women-led enterprises, supportive supervision and self-reliant rural institutions
Srinagar, | Sept: 24:The workshop on the National Supportive Supervision Framework (NSSF) and the SHE-LiFE initiative concluded in Srinagar Thursday, with senior officials and key stakeholders deliberating on strengthening rural livelihoods, scaling up women-led enterprises and building self-reliant community institutions under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
Organised by DAY-NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, the regional workshop was hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM), Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the workshop, Joint Secretary (Rural Livelihoods-I), Ministry of Rural Development, Amit Shukla, emphasised the need to facilitate the transition of rural women from MahilaKisans to confident MahilaUdyamis. He highlighted the role of digital platforms, SHE-LiFE, improved market access and convergence with departments and schemes such as Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and MGNREGA in establishing 1.6 lakh structured and market-ready women-led enterprises.
Emphasising quality over quantity, the Joint Secretary called for strengthening community institutions while extending focused support to Self-Help Group members who are still at an early stage of their entrepreneurial journey. He said Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) must remain at the centre of governance, credit facilitation and livelihood support.
He further stated that integrated digital platforms, including LokOS and SHE-LEAP, would support this transformation by enabling end-to-end monitoring and tracking the actual performance of women-led enterprises.
Deputy Secretary, Rural Livelihoods, Ministry of Rural Development, Dr Monika B., underlined the importance of grassroots empowerment and said that strong women-led institutions form the foundation of sustainable rural prosperity. She observed that continuous capacity building, effective governance and direct market integration would accelerate the transformation of Self-Help Groups into autonomous and self-governing institutions.
Delegates participated in extensive deliberations on actionable implementation strategies, technology-enabled livelihood solutions and the expansion of economic opportunities for rural women entrepreneurs. The discussions focused on ensuring the long-term sustainability, self-governance and direct market integration of community institutions.
A major highlight of the workshop was the introduction of the National Supportive Supervision Framework, a collaborative coaching and supervision model equipped with actionable management tools, standard governance benchmarks and clearly defined implementation timelines.
The workshop also unveiled a strategic roadmap for transforming Cluster Level Federations into autonomous “Swavalambi CLFs”, with a target of developing 5,000 Model CLFs over the next five years.
Speaking on the occasion, Mission Director, JKRLM, Dr Shubhra Sharma, expressed her satisfaction over JKRLM being entrusted with hosting the significant regional workshop. She highlighted the importance of bringing together representatives from different States and Union Territories to exchange experiences and formulate effective strategies for strengthening rural livelihoods through coordinated interventions and innovative approaches.
Dr Sharma expressed gratitude to all delegates, participating State teams and State Mission Directors for their active engagement and valuable contributions. She said their collective participation would contribute significantly towards building resilient, self-reliant and community-led rural institutions through coordinated government support.
