Evaluation of DAY-NRLM Scheme Shows Significant Rural Income Growth
The Ministry of Rural Development commissioned NITI Aayog's Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) to evaluate central rural sector schemes, including the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), during financial year 2025-26. The comprehensive study covered 2,206 rural households across 11 States and 2 Union Territories, spanning 36 districts and 216 villages.
The evaluation demonstrated that DAY-NRLM has mobilized over 10 crore rural households into nearly 92 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and achieved remarkable outcomes in women's empowerment and financial inclusion. The program showed significant positive impact with average household incomes increasing by 49% among participants. The study found strong alignment with national priorities including poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, and financial inclusion.
Women Empowerment and Economic Outcomes
The program contributed substantially to women's economic and social empowerment, with 58% of women reporting enhanced confidence, 52% experiencing improved access to income-generating opportunities, and 46% becoming capable of managing their banking transactions independently. Women-led enterprises diversified into various livelihood activities including tailoring, goat rearing, and agri-trading, strengthening income sources and promoting sustainable rural livelihoods.
Credit Utilization and Social Impact
SHG-linked credit was primarily used for livelihood purposes, with 34.0% of respondents using their first loan for establishing livelihood activities and 29.1% for supporting existing livelihood activities. Among SHGs that initiated group-level activities, 51.7% took loans to start these activities. The survey indicated that 75% of respondents across states reported that SHGs contributed to social and community development in their villages, with 54.6% indicating involvement in mobilizing vulnerable and poor women.
Monitoring and Financial Performance
The government has established a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework under DAY-NRLM that includes third-party evaluations, real-time MIS-based monitoring through LoKOS, periodic data validation, field-level verification, and outcome-based monitoring. The program maintains a remarkably low Non-Performing Asset (NPA) rate of 1.85%, indicating satisfactory repayment performance among SHGs. This success is supported by Community-Based Recovery Mechanisms enabled in 62,946 bank branches and the deployment of 55,371 Bank Sakhis who facilitate banking relationships between banks and women SHGs.
The Ministry has also established the Lakhpati Didi Portal for systematic tracking and monitoring of annual income of SHG households, providing district-wise and state-wise data to facilitate evidence-based planning and strengthen monitoring of income enhancement interventions.