Chairs 9th Executive Council meeting of JKRLM
Jammu Tawi, Jan 8: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Wednesday chaired the 9th Executive Council Meeting of the Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM) to review progress under the UMEED (National Rural Livelihood Mission) framework and outline future strategies for strengthening rural livelihoods and women-led development across the Union Territory.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasised the need to enhance credit linkages and build the capacity of Self Help Groups (SHGs) so that they evolve into sustainable rural enterprises. He reiterated that enterprise development remains the core objective behind SHG formation and stressed making Community Managed Training Centres (CMTCs) functional in every district. These centres, he said, should provide quality training through OMPLIS resource persons and emerge as vibrant learning hubs for women.
Highlighting the importance of grassroots financial inclusion, Dulloo directed that the income of Banking Correspondents (BCs) be increased by onboarding Common Service Centres (CSCs) and J&K Bank to boost transaction volumes. He also called for optimal utilisation of the Lal Ded Stree Shakti Scheme and Mission YUVA, urging women entrepreneurs to move beyond the ‘Lakhpati’ benchmark. Setting an ambitious target, he asked the department to double the number of ‘Millionaire Didis’ from 50 to 100 within six months.
Earlier, Secretary Rural Development Department, Aijaz Asad, informed that UMEED is being implemented across 285 blocks in all 20 districts of J&K, covering nearly the entire rural area. About 7.84 lakh rural households have been mobilised into 96,000 SHGs, which are federated into 7,453 Village Organisations and 650 Cluster Level Federations. He added that capitalisation support of ₹528.86 crore has been extended to community institutions, while since 2013-14, bank credit of ₹2,912.66 crore has been accessed by over 67,000 SHGs.
Managing Director, JKRLM, Subhra Sharma said that under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP), 8,231 rural enterprises have been supported in 14 blocks with ₹18.71 crore disbursed as Community Investment Fund. Farm-based livelihood interventions have benefited over 5.15 lakh Mahila Kisans through agro-ecological practices and improved livestock management.
She informed that during the current financial year, 3,459 SHGs have received CIF assistance against a target of 2,990, while cumulatively 78,508 SHGs have received Revolving Fund support of ₹117 crore and 65,000 SHGs CIF support of ₹402.83 crore. Under the Lal Ded Stree Shakti Scheme, 2,356 cases worth ₹25.59 crore have been sponsored so far.
The meeting was told that 710 SHG members are working as Banking Correspondents, significantly improving doorstep banking. Under the Lakhpati Didi Mission, over 2.01 lakh women have already been transformed into Lakhpati Didis against a target of 2.33 lakh.
Other highlights included skill training for over 17,500 SHG members, organisation of SARAS Melas and exhibitions, onboarding of SHG products on major e-commerce platforms, and development of district and women haats.
Outlining the roadmap ahead, JKRLM will focus on enterprise scaling, cluster-based growth, high-end skill development, financial literacy, and exposure visits to successful livelihood models in other states, besides establishing common facility centres and processing units across J&K.
