- Why in news
- On 3 September 2026 in Mumbai, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chairs a high-level meeting with banks and State Rural Livelihoods Missions on SHG-bank linkages and individual enterprise financing. The release was issued on 2 September 2026.
- What it is
- DAY-NRLM is the Rural Development Ministry's flagship mission to organise poor rural households, mainly women, into Self Help Groups and their federations. It links them to bank credit and livelihood activities so that they can raise their incomes. It is implemented through State Rural Livelihoods Missions.
- Implementing ministry
- The Ministry of Rural Development runs DAY-NRLM as a flagship programme to build community institutions and link them with livelihoods.
- Reach
- The Mission has mobilised over 10 crore rural women into over 93 lakh SHGs and their federations.
- Bank credit
- Banks have disbursed over Rs 13.67 lakh crore cumulatively to SHGs, with high repayment discipline.
- Lakhpati Didis
- 3.46 crore women have become Lakhpati Didis through livelihood enterprises.
- Meeting agenda
- Focus is on doubling individual enterprise credit, faster loan sanction, saturating credit linkage of remaining SHGs, and strengthening DCCBs and PACS.
- Financial Inclusion 2.0
- The deliberations will feed into the Financial Inclusion 2.0 vision for timely credit, dedicated financing for women-led enterprises and higher-order financial services.
- Coverage
- The mission runs in all States and UTs except Delhi and Chandigarh.
- Four core components
- Social mobilization and community institutions; financial inclusion; sustainable livelihoods; social inclusion and development.
- Cumulative reach
- 10.08 crore women mobilised into 92 lakh SHGs.
- eSaras and partners
- MoRD set up the eSaras platform and tied up with GeM, ONDC, Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and JioMart.
- Households and SHGs
- 10.05 crore households have been mobilised into 90.91 lakh SHGs as on December 2025.
- Bank Sakhis
- 50,548 Bank Sakhis are deployed at branch level. They have helped women SHGs access ₹12.18 lakh crore of bank credit since 2013–14.
- Role of Bank Sakhis
- They identify eligible SHGs, help prepare and submit loan applications, and follow up on pending proposals monthly.
- CBRM
- A Community Based Recovery Mechanism is institutionalised at each bank branch to ensure timely repayment of SHG loans.
- SVEP
- 5.88 lakh enterprises have been supported under the entrepreneurship component of DAY-NRLM (SVEP) as on December 2025.
Don’t confuse with DAY-NRLM vs DAY-NULM: DAY-NRLM covers rural areas under the Rural Development Ministry. DAY-NULM is the urban counterpart under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
Don’t confuse with SHG-Bank Linkage vs DAY-NRLM: SHG-Bank Linkage is NABARD's microfinance programme from the early 1990s. DAY-NRLM is a government mission that promotes SHGs and uses bank linkage for credit.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Women-led SHGs build collective finance, enterprise and income security for rural households.
- Easier bank credit supports women's economic empowerment and financial inclusion.
- Builds women-led community institutions that give the rural poor access to credit and collective bargaining.
- Market links such as Saras and eSaras help turn SHG membership into enterprise income.
- Builds women's collective institutions and widens rural financial inclusion through SHG–bank linkage.
Problems
- Credit still has to reach the remaining SHGs, including in difficult regions, and loan sanction takes time.
- Many SHG enterprises are small and need larger loans and market support to grow.
- Credit access and enterprise income vary widely across States; market linkage for SHG products remains thin.
- Loan repayment and recovery at branch level need constant follow-up, which is why CBRM was set up.
Way forward
- Cut loan turnaround time and raise average loan size, with a dedicated credit line for women-led enterprises.
- Strengthen DCCBs and PACS so that cooperative credit reaches SHGs.
- Strengthen skills, branding and digital market access, and monitor enterprise incomes rather than only coverage.
- Strengthen Bank Sakhis and enterprise support (SVEP) to move SHG members from credit access to sustained enterprises.
Put in your answer
SHG scale: Over 10 crore women in over 93 lakh SHGs shows the reach of community-based institutions.
Credit and repayment: Rs 13.67 lakh crore disbursed to SHGs with high repayment shows women's groups are creditworthy.
Women mobilised: 10.08 crore women mobilised into 92 lakh SHGs, an example of women's empowerment through collectives.
SHG coverage: 10.05 crore households are in 90.91 lakh SHGs under DAY-NRLM (December 2025).
Bank credit: Women SHGs have accessed ₹12.18 lakh crore of bank credit since 2013–14.
- 2015Mains GS2 · Q9Elucidate SHG-Bank Linkage Programme as poverty alleviation and women empowerment tool
- 2020Mains GS2 · Q17Evaluate SHGs' role in microfinance for asset creation and women empowerment
- 2017Mains GS2 · Q16Examine SHGs' role in development and government measures to promote them
- 2010Prelims Q99Differences between Swadhar and Swayam Siddha women welfare schemes, including SHG role
- 2016Prelims Q63Which scheme aims at promoting Self Help Groups in rural areas
- 2015Prelims Q1Purpose of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, including women's SHGs option
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.DAY-NRLM is implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, with States implementing it through State Rural Livelihoods Missions.
- 2.Bank Sakhis are deployed at the bank branch level and help SHGs prepare loan applications and follow up on pending loan proposals.
- 3.A Community Based Recovery Mechanism has been institutionalised at each bank branch to ensure timely repayment of bank loans by SHGs.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 7
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.DAY-NRLM is a scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development.
True. It is run by the Ministry of Rural Development.
2.Bank Sakhis are deployed at the bank branch level to strengthen SHG–Bank linkage.
True. Bank Sakhis are deployed at branch level.
3.Bank Sakhis help SHGs prepare loan applications and follow up on pending loan proposals.
True. They prepare and facilitate loan applications and follow up monthly.
4.A Community Based Recovery Mechanism has been set up at each bank branch to ensure timely repayment of SHG loans.
True. CBRM is institutionalised at each bank branch for repayment.
5.The scheme began in 2013–14 under the same name, DAY-NRLM.
False. The release dates the scheme's inception to 2013–14, but the Deendayal Antyodaya name is not shown to date from then; it began as NRLM in 2011 and was renamed later.
6.The Bank Sakhi mechanism is mainly meant to give grants to SHGs instead of bank credit.
False. Bank Sakhis facilitate institutional bank credit to SHGs.
7.SVEP is the entrepreneurship component of DAY-NRLM.
True. SVEP supports enterprises under DAY-NRLM's entrepreneurship component.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.