Empowering rural communities is a shared goal wholeheartedly embraced through Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Much of NRLM’s framework has arisen out of the experience of the  pioneering mission led SHG consolidation programmes of SERP in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Kudumbashree in Kerala. When the NRLM came into being, Kudumbashree was designated as the Kerala State Rural Livelihood Mission in 2012-13. The State had already achieved complete saturation of SHGs and total consolidation into a 3 tier community network called the Community development societies (CDS) at the time. As stewards of this flagship program, Kudumbashree mission tailors its activities of promoting sustainable livelihood opportunities, particularly for women, by building on the experience of the social inclusion and livelihood initiatives of the community network in Kerala. Key initiatives include the strengthening of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), livelihood activities, access to formal financial services and other entitlements, capacity building,  and emphasis on women’s empowerment. The unique feature of the programme in Kerala is the extent of interphase with the local governments and their development and welfare platforms.  NRLM in Kerala, encourages convergence with other government programs to maximize the impact for sustainable well being and community centric development.

The Kudumbashree mission also functions as a National Resource Organisation in the areas of micro enterprise development  and panchayat – community network convergence, and works with many States to develop state specific strategies involving communities of SHGs and their federations.