Haryana
Saras Aajeevika Mela 2024
- 15 Oct 2024
- 3 min read
Why in News?
- Recently, the Saras Aajeevika Mela 2024 began in Gurugram, showcasing rural products and promoting women empowerment through self-help groups (SHGs) from across India.
Key Points
- Saras Aajeevika Mela:
- Its aim is to provide a platform for rural artisans and SHG women to showcase and sell their products, including handicrafts, handlooms, organic products, and traditional foods.
- The fair is organized by the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
- The mela acts as a marketing channel where rural producers can connect directly with urban consumers, helping them increase their income and expand market reach.
- The event significantly contributes to women empowerment by providing opportunities to rural women entrepreneurs to exhibit their craftsmanship on a larger scale.
- Initiatives like the Saras Mela are aligned with the government’s broader objectives of strengthening rural economies and promoting vocal for local under the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- The initiative is part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM).
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission
- About:
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Programme, launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in 2011.
- It aims to eliminate rural poverty through the promotion of multiple livelihoods and improved access to financial services for the rural poor households across the country.
- Functioning:
- It involves working with community institutions through community professionals in the spirit of self-help which is a unique proposition of DAY-NRLM.
- It impacts livelihoods by
- Mobilizing rural households into SHGs.
- Organizing one-woman member from each rural poor household into SHGs
- Providing training and capacity building to SHG members
- Providing access to financial resources from their own institutions and banks.
- Sub Programs:
- Mahila Kisan Shashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP): It aims to promote agro-ecological practices that increase women farmers’ income and reduce their input costs and risks.
- Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP): It aims to support entrepreneurs in rural areas to set up local enterprises.
- Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY): It was launched in August 2017, to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote rural villages.
- Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY): It aims at building placement-linked skills of the rural youth and placing them in relatively higher wage employment sectors of the economy.
- Rural Self Employment Institutes (RSETIs): DAY-NRLM, in partnership with 31 Banks and State Governments, is supporting Rural Self Employment Institutes (RSETIs) for skilling rural youth to take up gainful self-employment.
