Centre approves changes in DAY-NULM guidelines

NEW DELHI: To reach out to more people, the Centre today approved changes in the guidelines of the urban livelihoods mission DAY-NULM, including allowing those in vulnerable vocations to form groups for availing loans at subsidised interest rates. As per the new guidelines, banks can directly accept applications from beneficiaries for extending loans at subsidised interest rates for setting up enterprises under the self-

employment component, dispensing with the need for sponsorship by urban local bodies concerned, an official statement said.

One bank will be designated as the nodal agency for each state to coordinate with all other banks to increase banking linkages for loan support under this component.

"Men involved in vulnerable occupations like sanitation workers, rag-pickers and rickshaw-pullers are now allowed to form groups who would be eligible for bank loans," the release said.

Norms for formation of self-help groups (SHGs) of urban poor have also been relaxed, allowing up to 10 members to form a group in hilly tracts and tribal areas as against the earlier norm of 20 members.

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) seeks to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor with providing loan and skill training, among others.

The changes in operation guidelines of the mission were approved at a meeting of the National Governing Council of the mission, an inter-ministerial body chaired by Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu.

Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Rao Inderjit Singh also attended the meeting.

The Governing Council also allowed construction of shelters for the urban homeless with CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds and other donations allowing display of names of such donors.

Construction of multi-storeyed shelters for urban homeless keeping in view land constraints has also been permitted, the release said.

The Council has also permitted convergence of DAY-NULM with other schemes like Prime Minister's Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Skill Development, Jan Dhan Yojana and various social security schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.

After reviewing progress of the scheme in the past two years, Naidu said that the performance against the targets has been "satisfactory" but expressed the "need for states to do more".