12
S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
and the accompanying insurance schemes,
setting up of Micro Units Development &
Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) bank,
dismantling of Planning Commission,
instituting the National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and gal-
vanising the public service machinery into
action, took most of the time. The erstwhile
flagship programmes such as National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)
and National Rural Livelihoods Mission
(NRLM) that actually worked in the liveli-
hoods space did not get enough attention.
The Skill India Initiative tries to bring
under one umbrella all the issues relating
to employment and enterprise creation.
Looking ahead, there is hope that with the
spadework having been done, the govern-
ment will get down to the nitty-gritty of
delivering results on the ground.
The rest of this report is divided into
seven chapters to examine the livelihoods-
related policies, budget and legislation, some
large and important livelihoods sustaining
programmes, skill development efforts,
non-farm sector livelihoods, private sector’s
engagement in livelihoods of the poor and
functioning and functionality of producer
collectives. A special chapter on dairying—a
major livelihood sub-sector—tries to delve
into the various aspects of the dairy value
chain. A concluding piece tries to summa-
rize the different suggestions and looks at
the way forward.
