The Ministry of Rural Development provided a progress update on the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) implemented across India except Delhi and Chandigarh. The mission aims to organize rural households into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and support them until they achieve appreciable income increases and improved quality of life through four core components: social mobilization, financial inclusion, sustainable livelihoods, and social inclusion.
During FY 2023-24 to 2025-26, the mission achieved significant progress: 1,06,33,882 households were covered in SHGs, 7,58,243 SHGs were formed, 1,07,677 Village Organizations were established, and 9,324 Cluster level Federations were created. The program provided capitalization support of ₹33,335.92 crore to SHGs, Village Organizations and Cluster Level Federations. Bank credit disbursement reached ₹6,38,339.43 crore with a remarkably low Non-Performing Assets percentage of 1.85%. The mission supported 248 Mahila Kisans under Agro-Ecological Practices and facilitated 53,80,137 enterprises.
Cumulatively, 10.08 crore women have been mobilized into 92 lakh SHGs, with 57.60 lakh women SHGs credit-linked during 2025-26 alone. The ministry is strengthening market access for SHG products through multiple initiatives including brand registrations ("Saras", "Saras Aajeevika", and "Aajeevika") with 25 States creating state-level brands such as UMED (Maharashtra), Palash and Adiva (Jharkhand), Himira (Himachal Pradesh), and Mathi (Tamil Nadu). The ministry organizes 2 National level Saras Melas, 1 food festival, and 50+ State Level Saras melas annually to promote SHG products in urban markets. A retail store (Saras Aajeevika Gallery) operates in Central Delhi, and states operate similar retail outlets under their brands. The ministry has established a dedicated e-commerce platform eSaras and partnered with GeM, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, and JioMart for promoting SHG products.