From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Mar 6: The Congress-led UPA regime’s National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to eradicate poverty in rural areas is being implemented in the five districts of Belgaum, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Mysore and Tumkur as ''Sanjeevini” in Karnataka.

The ''Sanjeevini” is being implemented in 20 taluks of the five districts in the first phase to alleviate the rural poverty by 2015, according to Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj RDPR Department Principal Secretary Amita Prasad.

The NRLM has been designed by restructuring the existing 10-year old village self-employment scheme - Swarna Jayanthi Gram Swarojgar Yojana - of the Union Rural Development Ministry on the recommendations of various committees to rectify shortcomings.

The programme aimed at reducing poverty through promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. Unemployed youth in rural areas would be provided entrepreneurship training by Rural Development Self Employment Training (RUDSET) Institute.

Prasad said NRLM would focus on promoting self-help groups and SHG federations and financial inclusion. The RDPR Department has urged public sector banks to integrate SHGs with their lending programme to enable women to undertake economic activities.

The NRLM would undertake programmes for enhancing existing livelihood options for the poor, building skills for job market and nurture self-employment.

It also aimed to create self-employment for the rural poor through provisions of different types of micro finance services and promotion of sustainable livelihoods.

“Placement linked skill development programme is envisioned to create job opportunities for the unemployed rural youth,” Prasad said.