NRLM Guide — National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)

Any woman from a poor rural household identified through the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) or participatory identification of poor (PIP) method is eligible. The household should not already be a member of another NRLM SHG. There is no age limit, but members must be adults. Households with manual scavengers, primitive tribal groups, disabled members, and destitute families get priority. Urban women are covered under DAY-NULM, the urban counterpart.

NRLM primarily focuses on women SHGs. However, in some special categories, men can form SHGs — specifically persons with disabilities, members of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), and communities engaged in traditional livelihoods. In the North-Eastern states, mixed (men and women) SHGs are also permitted. But the vast majority of NRLM SHGs are exclusively women's groups.

SHGs can access collateral-free bank loans up to ₹20 lakh under SHG-Bank Linkage. The loan amount depends on the SHG's maturity, savings corpus, repayment track record, and credit plan. First-time SHG loans are typically 4–6 times the corpus (₹3–6 lakh). Second cycle is 6–8 times, and from the third cycle onwards, loans can reach up to ₹20 lakh. Interest subvention reduces the effective rate significantly.

The Revolving Fund of ₹10,000–₹15,000 per SHG is a grant, not a loan. It is provided as seed capital that stays with the SHG permanently and is rotated among members for productive purposes. The SHG does not need to repay it to the government. However, members who borrow from the RF must repay to the SHG with interest (decided by the group), so the fund keeps growing.

A Village Organisation (VO) is a federation of 10–30 SHGs from the same village or panchayat. The VO coordinates activities among member SHGs, facilitates bank linkage, distributes CIF and other funds, monitors SHG financial health, and acts as an intermediary between SHGs and block-level institutions. VOs also manage community professionals, conduct social audits, and implement livelihood activities. Each VO has elected office bearers from its member SHGs.

DDU-GKY (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana) provides free placement-linked skill training to rural youth aged 15–35 (up to 45 for some special categories). Applicants must be from poor rural households (SECC list or BPL). Training includes residential programmes with food, accommodation, and training materials provided free. Upon completion, a minimum 70% placement is guaranteed. Youth can apply through the state SRLM or training partner websites.

SVEP provides comprehensive entrepreneurship support including: identification of aspiring entrepreneurs within SHGs, Entrepreneurship Development Programme training (5–7 days), business plan preparation assistance, Community Enterprise Fund loans at affordable rates, mentoring by trained CRP-EP (Community Resource Persons for Enterprise Promotion), and market linkage support. Enterprises supported include food processing, dairy, poultry, retail, tailoring, beauty parlours, and service activities. The programme provides up to 18 months of handholding support.

Yes. SHG membership opens access to multiple government schemes. SHG members can apply for PM Mudra Yojana loans, PMEGP subsidy, PM FME subsidy for food processing, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund loans, and Stand Up India loans (for SC/ST/women). SHG members get priority under many schemes. The federation structure helps identify eligible members and facilitates applications. TaxClue helps SHG members navigate these schemes and maximise benefits.