Focus: GS II: Government Policies and Interventions
Why in News?
Recently, eSARAS mobile App was launched by the Secretary of Union Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India at New Delhi.
About eSARAS App
- The eSARAS App is an e-commerce mobile application designed to serve as an effective platform for marketing products made by women in self-help groups (SHGs).
- It is an initiative conceptualized by the DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission), under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), with the aim of promoting and marketing authentic handicrafts and handlooms.
- The app supports the spirit of “Vocal for Local” by providing an easier way to market and sell products prepared by SHGs.
- In conjunction with the eSARAS App, eSARAS Fulfilment Centres have also been inaugurated.
eSARAS Fulfilment Centres
- These fulfilment centres are managed by the Foundation for Development of Rural Value Chains (FDRVC), which is a not-for-profit company jointly constituted by the Ministry of Rural Development and Tata Trust.
- The fulfilment centres are responsible for processing, packaging, and shipping products purchased by customers through the eSARAS Portal and eSARAS mobile App.
- They handle the logistics required to deliver online orders to customers’ doorsteps, ensuring a smooth and efficient supply chain for SHG products.
- The eSARAS initiative aims to empower women in SHGs, promote rural entrepreneurship, and provide wider market access for their products, ultimately contributing to the economic development of rural communities.
About Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission:
- It is a centrally sponsored programme, launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in June 2011.
- To eliminate rural poverty through the promotion of multiple livelihoods and improved access to financial services for the rural poor households across the country.
- To reach out to all rural poor households and impact their livelihoods.
The objective of the Mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods for the poor such that they come out of poverty. The institutions of the poor are intended to facilitate
- access to formal credit;
- support for diversification and strengthening of livelihoods;
- and access to entitlements and public services.
Functioning:
- It involves working with community institutions through community professionals in the spirit of self-help which is a unique proposition of DAY-NRLM.
- It impacts the livelihoods through universal social mobilization by inter alia organising one-woman member from each rural poor household into Self Help Groups (SHGs), their training and capacity building, facilitating their micro-livelihoods plans, and enabling them to implement their livelihoods plans through accessing financial resources from their own institutions and the banks.
Implementation:
- It is implemented in a Mission mode by special purpose vehicles (autonomous state societies) with dedicated implementation support units at the national, state, district and block levels, using professional human resources in order to provide continuous and long-term handholding support to each rural poor family.
