The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a flagship poverty alleviation and rural livelihoods scheme of the Government of India, implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). The mission was initially launched in June 2011 as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) or 'Aajeevika'. It was created to solve the problem of rural poverty by moving away from the subsidy-driven approach of its predecessor, the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), towards a demand-driven strategy focused on building strong institutions of the poor.
The scheme was renamed DAY-NRLM in November 2015 (or March 29, 2016, depending on the source). It works primarily by mobilizing rural poor households, especially women, into self-managed Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations, with an agenda to cover 7 Crore rural poor households. The core mechanism rests on three pillars: universal social mobilization, financial inclusion, and livelihoods enhancement. Key provisions include facilitating access to formal credit and financial services, with SHGs accessing over ₹11 lakh crore in credit since 2013-14. The scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, jointly funded by the Central and State governments.
DAY-NRLM connects to several related sub-schemes and concepts, such as the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), which provides placement-linked skill training for rural youth, and the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs). It also promotes entrepreneurship through the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Program (SVEP). The scheme has been partially supported by the World Bank. The most significant change was the renaming and restructuring from NRLM to DAY-NRLM in 2015/2016, which reinforced the focus on the 'Antyodaya' philosophy of uplifting the poorest. The fundamental mechanism of building institutions of the poor, particularly women, through SHGs has stayed the same.