The National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) is a Government of India initiative aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability among the urban poor by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. In Uttarakhand, the Urban Development Directorate oversees the implementation of NULM, focusing on several key components:
Objectives
i. To reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling them to access
self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities.
ii. To provide shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless.
iii. The mission aims to address the livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors
Components:
i. Self-Employment Programmer (SEP) – SEP supports individual and group enterprises by facilitating access to subsidized loans. Individual enterprises can avail loans up to ₹2 lakh, while group enterprises can access up to ₹10 lakh. The program offers an interest subsidy to ensure a 7% rate on these loans, subject to timely repayment. It also facilitates linkage with the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and provides support for credit cards to individual entrepreneurs for working capital requirements.
ii. Social Mobilization & Institution Development (SM&ID) – This involves organizing urban poor into Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Area Level Federations (ALFs), and City Level Federations (CLFs) to empower them through capacity building and training. Resource Organizations (ROs) are engaged to facilitate the formation and development of these groups, with a maximum expenditure of ₹10,000 per SHG. Additionally, Revolving Fund Support of ₹10,000 for SHGs and ₹50,000 for ALFs is provided. City Livelihoods Centres (CLCs) are established to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of goods and services produced by the urban poor.</p.
iii. Shelters for Urban Homeless (SUH) – SUH aims to provide permanent, 24×7 all-weather community shelters for the urban homeless. For every 1 lakh urban population, shelters catering to 50-100 persons are established, equipped with essential infrastructural facilities like kitchens, water, sanitation, electricity, and recreation. The construction cost is shared between the central and state governments in a 90:10 ratio, with the state providing land as their contribution.</p.
iv. Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV) – His component aims to address the livelihood concerns of urban street vendors by facilitating access to suitable spaces, institutional credit, social security, and skills. Activities include conducting city-wide street vendor surveys, issuing ID cards, developing City Street Vending Plans, and providing bank linkages, skill development, and social security convergence.In addition to these components, financial institutions like the Uttarakhand Gramin Bank play a crucial role in supporting NULM by offering financial products tailored to the needs of the urban poor. The bank provides lowmargin, low-processing-charge loans with attractive interest rates, starting with –.–%*, to individual and group enterprises under NULM. The eligibility criteria include being an urban poor individual desiring to set up an enterprise or being part of a group of at least five members, with a minimum of 70% belonging to urban poor families. The bank offers flexible repayment options ranging from 60 to 84 months and provides both cash credit and term loan facilities, with loan amounts up to ₹2 lakh for individuals and ₹10 lakh for groups. Through these concerted efforts, NULM in Uttarakhand aims to uplift the urban poor by providing them with the necessary skills, financial support, and institutional backing to improve their livelihoods sustainably .