Udaipur, Jun 3 (IANS): The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which will be launched by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Rajasthan's Banswara district Friday, will help raise skills of people who have benefited from the rural employment guarantee scheme, rural development ministry officials said.

They said that beneficiaries of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA),who have completed the national of average of work under the programme, will be eligible for skill upgradation under NRLM.

The officials said that national average of mandays (days of employment) under MGNREGA was 47 days in 2010-11 and those who have worked for the period can avail of opportunities to enhance their skills under NRLM.

"The idea is to turn them into a skilled worker and enhance their earning potential. This will enhance the quality of their livelihood significantly," a ministry official told IANS.

He said that apart from rural self employment training institutes, which are being set up in all districts of country as part of NRLM, MGNREGA workers can also be trained by private sector.He said MGNREGA workers will be organised into self-help groups (SHGs) to benefit under NRLM.

NRLM is a flagship programme of UPA-II (United Progressive Alliance-II) government aimed at reaching out to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households through self-managed SHGs.

It aims to involve at least one member of seven crore rural BPL families, preferably women, in SHGs and enhance their livelihood skills.