livelihoods. learning. sharing.

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October 2013

LIVEwireLIVEwireVol. I No. 3

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on LIVEwireThis Month

The world celebrated the 144th Birth Anniversary of MahatmaGandhi in a singular manner this year. Sam Pitroda, Chairman ofthe National Innovation Council led the celebrations via a GlobalTwitter Conference. The conference saw participants from over 84countries pay tributes to Gandhi while recalling his universalmessage of peace and love for all humankind.

Unfortunately, October 2013 also witnessed the revelation that halfof all the world’s slaves today (bonded labourers, victims of humantrafficking, etc.) are in India according to the 2013 Global SlaveryIndex. While the numbers can be debated, it is no secret thathuman dignity and livelihoods continue to be eroded in the land ofthe Mahatma.

As a social innovator way ahead of his time, Gandhi brought a wholenew meaning to the ‘charkha’, as a sign of self­sufficiency andindependence. While the knowledge that 15 million Indians arelanguishing in slavery today is disheartening, there is light at theend of the tunnel through social innovators like Industree Crafts andBandhan Creations which are slowly bridging the gap betweentalented yet marginalized rural artisans and urban consumers in aliberalized economy. These ventures coupled with innovativelivelihood programmes like the National Rural Livelihoods Mission(NRLM) and the recently launched National Urban LivelihoodsMission (NULM) offer immense hope towards supporting traditionallivelihoods while also promoting national heritage.

In this edition of LIVEwire, we acknowledge the need for greaterinnovations in livelihoods education and research. The crowdsourcing of online learning platforms, the collaborations betweenacademics and practitioners towards fulfilling the human resourcerequirements of State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and theestablishment of a research agenda for policy implementation, findspecial mention in this month’s newsletter. We hope that you enjoyreading it and look forward to your comments and feedback towardsenriching future editions of LIVEwire.

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mapping and relate the findings with other tools. The

participants were later oriented with management topics

through games and exercises.

The training was inaugurated by Mr. Mihir Sahana (MD­Indian

Grameen Services) while Mr. Mukesh Sharan (State Project

Manager­Microfinance, BRLPS) was present. The sessions

were facilitated by Mr Avinash Kumar, Mr Sanjeev Kumar, Dr

Shashidharan and Dr Gouri (all from TLS) and by Prof Manish

Singhal of XLRI. An interactive session to understand the

challenges and opportunities for the district level managers

was conducted by Mr Ajit Kanitkar.

A total of 33 participants from BRLPS attended the program

including five District Project Managers, seven Block Project

Managers and other district level managers. With the

successful implementation of this training program, TLS

intends improving it further based on inputs and share the

training with other SRLMs.

Research Study on Understanding Livelihood

Models at JEEViKA

MDI, Gurgaon is leading a collaborative research study to

identify and comprehend lessons based on five years of

implementation of JEEViKA, the livelihoods project of BRLPS.

This study hopes to contribute to the larger understanding on

policies and practices by exploring JEEViKA's models of Human

Resource Management, Social Inclusion, Financial Inclusion

and Livelihoods Inclusion. The study will analyse pathways for

enabling organisational leadership and strategies that make

rural livelihoods programmes more effective.

During the first phase of the study, the team consisting of

Prof. Avanish Kumar (MDI, Gurgaon), Kalpana Pant

(Chaitanya), Dr. KV Gouri (TLS) and Dr. Ajit Kanitkar (Ford

Foundation) visited Patna in September 2013 and interacted

with key members of JEEViKA's leadership. Currently, the

team is analyzing project reports and thematic literature. This

will be followed by fieldwork in the months of November and

December 2013.

MMAANNTTHHAANN iinn AAcctt iioonn

Submission of Draft NRLM Rural Internship Policy

to MoRD & video conference with CEOs of SRLMs

A team of Livelihoods MANTHAN partners ­ Prof. Ashwani

Kumar (TISS), Prof. Dinesh Awasthi (EDI), Prof. C Shambu

Prasad (XIMB) and Dr. Ajit Kanitkar (Ford Foundation) drafted

and submitted a Rural Internship Policy for NRLM to Mr.

Anjani Kumar of NRLM on August 25, 2013. This policy was

based on successful implementation of the Rural Livelihoods

Internship (RLI) programme of Livelihoods MANTHAN over the

past two years.

Subsequently, Mr. Vijay Kumar, Mission Director, NRLM

invited Prof. Ashwani to share the highlights of the policy to

the CEOs of SRLMs in a video conference held on September

10, 2013. Mr. Vijay Kumar suggested that this experiment is

worth scaling up as part of the NRLM framework. He has

since invited Prof. Ashwani and Livelihoods MANTHAN to assist

the NMMU team in this regard.

Livelihoods MANTHAN at the 2nd Round Table on

NRLM

The UN Solution Exchange and UNDP, in July 2013, facilitated

an e­discussion to find ways to develop human resources,

build capacities for scaling up, identify strategies to converge

with existing institutions so as to fast track the

implementation of NRLM. With a view to presenting the

results of this e­discussion and for improving effectiveness of

NRLM implementation, UNDP organized this 2nd National

Round Table on NRLM in New Delhi on October 3. Livelihoods

MANTHAN partners had also contributed to the e­discussion

and were invited to this event.

The Mission Director informed the audience that NRLM is

replicating Livelihoods MANTHAN’s RLI programme as a

National Internship Policy and is also developing a framework

to encourage students to conduct research on livelihood

themes leading to MPhil and PhDs supported by NRLM.

Training on Livelihood Promotion and Managerial

Skills for District Level Managers of BRLPS

The Livelihood School (TLS) conducted a five day training

module for district level managers of Bihar Rural Livelihood

Promotion Society (BRLPS) in Patna from September 3 to 7,

2013. This followed the development of a customized

curriculum earlier this year based on the capacity

enhancement requirements of the BRLPS district staff.

The training started with an understanding of livelihoods

promotion based on participants' experiences. A field visit was

organized to learn about Household Livelihood Portfolio

News updates from the Livelihoods MANTHAN consortium

­ 2 ­LIVEwire October 2013

"Breaking the Writer’s Block" Capacity building

Write­shop for JSLPS

TLS conducted a three­day workshop (September 10 – 12,

2013) for Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society

(JSLPS) entitled “Breaking the Writer’s Block” where 35 staff

(Block Project Managers, District Project Managers, State

Project Managers and others) participated. This is the first

event in the four­phased capacity building on documentation

where after the staff have built their confidence in writing,

documented cases from the field and brought them to a write­

shop where these cases shall be discussed, improved and

eventually published.

The workshop delved into making the participants realize their

strengths in ‘writing’ and gradually took them from framing

one­word to one sentence captions all the way to writing

paragraphs and case­lets. The participants found tools such as

‘bullet exercises’ extremely useful in being able to ‘see

through’ a story, shuffle sequencing as well as identify what is

missing. It is expected that this effort to dig out the tacit

knowledge of the participants on to paper will eventually

become a product that will be useful for documentation of

good (and bad) practices for JSLPS and subsequently other

SRLMs.

Training on Managerial Decision Making Skills

using case teaching methodology for BRLPS

TLS had organized a training programme on Managerial

Decision Making Skills (using case teaching methodologies)

during September 19 to 21, 2013 at Patna in which BRLPS

District Project Managers and Block Project Managers

participated. The cases for teaching were from the book

“Managerial Decision­making in Agricultural Cooperatives:

Some Selected Cases” by Ajit Kanitkar (published by

International Cooperative Alliance). The participants found the

training very useful and were able to relate to the real life

decision making experiences mentioned in the cases. The

Officer on Special Duty for BRLPS, Mr. B. K. Pathak who

attended the training, mentioned that he could readily identify

with one case, i.e., “Diversion Weir in Dandasenapasi Village”

MMAANNTTHHAANN iinn AAcctt iioonnNews updates from the Livelihoods MANTHAN consortium

­ 3 ­LIVEwire October 2013

and related his experiences on taking a similar decision many

years ago when he was posted as Circle Officer in Godda

district of Jharkhand.

Team­Building & Assimilation Workshop For the

State Leadership Team of JSLPS

XLRI School of Management conducted a Team Building &

Assimilation Workshop for the newly recruited leadership team

of JSLPS on August 23 at Ranchi. The workshop was designed

to help the team to get to know and appreciate each other’s

strengths and constraints, and also to build a collective

identity and develop a set of personal and group action items.

The workshop was facilitated through managerial group

exercises and reflective sessions using tools like SWOT

analysis, instrumented feedback through Belbin’s team roles

and preparing a collective action plan for JSLPS. This is the

second year XLRI is conducting this workshop for JSLPS and

its success has led to other SRLMs inviting XLRI to replicate

the exercise for their leadership teams.

MANTHAN partners at the National Workshop on

Monitoring and Evaluation of Livelihoods

Programs

Members of Livelihoods MANTHAN were invited as resource

persons to a two­day National Workshop on Monitoring and

Evaluation (M&E) of Livelihoods Programs for the benefit of

Mission States during 12­13 August, 2013 at Vigyan Bhawan,

New Delhi. The workshop was organized in association with

the World Bank to facilitate SRLMs to adopt appropriate M&E

strategies and to commission Impact Evaluation studies at the

earliest. As part of the workshop, two panels were organized –

first, to discuss M&E experiences of livelihoods projects funded

by the World Bank and other agencies, second to facilitate

sharing of M&E experiences of leading resource agencies.

E­learning module on “Fundamentals of

Livelihood Promotion”

TLS has developed an e­learning module on “Fundamentals of

Livelihood Promotion” which is now online here. The course

helps the user develop a simple but effective understanding of

livelihood promotion. This course is useful for beginners

engaging in the field of livelihood promotion to get a

perspective of what is meant by livelihoods, livelihood

promotion and intervention. Simple self evaluation exercises

are included to help the users to check their understanding as

they go through the modules.

realized the importance of collective action with the Lakshmi

and Kanna Self Help Groups of the Kannaudi collective in

Shahdol district taking the lead. The SHG groups come

together to make 80 nurseries from just two quintals of seeds.

The team of Umesh Payasi, Anupam Misra and Divya

organized the women and created awareness and facilitated

the training by the Village Extension Worker Ramesh

Viswakarma. With a view to make this into a movement, the

villagers decided to organize a demonstration in a large plot.

100 nursery beds were prepared of which 80 beds were good

for transplantation. 71 families of the Kubri village got free

seedlings for transplantation from this collective nursery.

Under the leadership of Sitabai, Rambati, Asha, Ganshia, Nita

and Meena, the villagers resolved that the villagers would

work together and offer their free labour as gift (Shram Daan)

to ensure collective transplantation in each other’s fields for

better results through the SRI system. SRI seedlings for

transplantation were also shared with a few poor families from

neighbouring Barkoda village. Overall, 71 families from Kubri

and 49 from Barkoda have taken up SRI cultivation in the

village.

The crop of all the 120 families are looking healthy with tillers

ranging from 24 to 53, and the villagers are expecting a

doubling of yield. The villagers have made use of the revolving

fund of Rs 10,000 each, and the proposal to use the CCL is

under consideration. The villagers have also experimented

with improved vegetable cultivation in Rabi season. The

results from harvest is due but the experiment shows the

need for village level organization and innovation to further

agricultural livelihoods and the important role of community

extension and local convergence between agriculture and rural

development departments to facilitate the process.

Collective Action and Community Extension in

Agricultural Livelihoods: The MPSLM Experience

Mr. Anoop Tiwari, the District Project Manager of Shadol

district in Madhya Pradesh State Livelihood Mission shares an

experiment in collective farming in the region through

community nurseries in rice cultivation [adapted from Hindi]

Under the Madhya Pradesh State Livelihood Mission, the

District of Shahdol has come forward to take up improved rice

cultivation techniques. Following initial experiments of

improved yields through the System of Rice Intensification the

District Collector Dr Ashok Bhargava encouraged more

families and villagers to take up SRI (System of Rice

Intensification) with indications of improved productivity even

with reduced labour costs. In the current Kharif season five

SHGs of Lalapur, four from Hardi32, 11 from Jaitpur, 9 each

from Gohpari and Rasmohan, and 8 from Kannaudhi have

taken up SRI.

Members of the SHGs are imparted training and technical

support on SRI under the overall guidance of the District

Training Coordinator, Mr. Dinesh Sharma. Farmers with prior

experience in SRI are encouraged to narrate their experiences

to facilitate a farmer to farmer extension system. The women

were encouraged to take up the shorter duration pigeon pea

variety ICPL 87 that is also pest resistant and can provide

higher yields. Officials of the Agriculture department and the

livelihood mission led by Anoop Tiwari, the project manager of

Shahdol district have embarked on taking up SRI on a wide

scale. With SRI, a conoweeder is used for weeding. Results

have been encouraging and the plants have shown healthy

tillers, between 22­45, two months after transplantation.

Officials estimate a likely yield 45­65 quintals per hectare,

which could be 2­3 times that of conventional farming

methods. SRI had been tried by few farmers, with good

results, in the village and the women resolved to take up SRI

as a result in the whole village. This meant changes in the

way they managed their cultivation practices. The women

VVooiicceess ff rroomm tthhee ff iiee llddReports from livelihood professionals in the field

­ 4 ­LIVEwire October 2013

take decisions at household level, imparted moderate levels of

financial literacy and provided a steady income even though it

was not sufficient to fulfil their essential needs.

The research findings reveal that substantial improvements

can be made to the trainings to yield better results for the

community. It is recommended that OLM evolve a common

framework for community based training programs with room

for flexibility according to the local context. This framework

should essentially consist of the following phases:

1. Designing the training

2. Implementation

3. Monitoring & Evaluation Phase.

The overall scheme of the training program is represented in

the figure below:

The training program in its current form, say the women,

allots little time for key financial skills, has large batch sizes

with only one demo exercise and no time for clearing doubts.

Further the SHG members felt that trainings consumed time

from their domestic chores and do not contribute to

substantial increase in their incomes. So the time allocation

for different topics of the training program should be revised

keeping in mind the capability and demands of the trainees.

Also the training methodology should be improved to include

audio visuals and localized case studies. Further, OLM needs

to consider seriously the communities’ preferences for

additional training on specific themes with a focus on income

generating activities.

At the end of the day, the training should be forward looking,

follow an inclusive process, with a training format adaptable to

local contexts and have a lasting impact on both community &

State Rural Livelihood Missions.

Strengthening community based training for

sustainable livelihoods in Odisha

Ms. Ankita Bhangadiya is a second year postgraduate student

of rural management in XIMB. A former software

professional, Ankita was one of the Rural Livelihood interns

who spent two months at the Odisha Livelihood Mission

(OLM) working with village communities and OLMstaff.

The primary goal for any government or civil society

intervention for promoting sustainable livelihoods is to enable

the poor and the marginalized to ultimately become

independent of any kind of external support. By becoming

leaders and managers of their communities, the people

especially in rural areas will contribute to holistic and

sustainable growth and mark the path towards better living

conditions for future generations. The role of State Rural

Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and other livelihood promoters is

to enable this progress through building their capacities and

imparting training for skills to manage individual and

community resources and eventually making them self­

sustainable.

This article is based on research by the author as part of her

Livelihoods MANTHAN Rural Livelihoods Internship (RLI)

assignment for assessing the impact of trainings to grassroots

communities in Mahakaalpara block, Kendrapara district in

Odisha. These trainings are imparted to women SHGs as part

of OLM and primarily focus on financial assets and project

management of community funds.

The impact assessment was done through interviews with

trainees, trainers, implementation and design team member

including the Capacity Building Officer at the OLM

headquarters, Bhubaneswar. The interviews helped

understand SHG members’ learning and benefits from the

training and also identify gaps in the training design.

It was observed that the trainings helped the community in

building the self­confidence of women, motivated them to

VVooiicceess ff rroomm tthhee ff iiee llddReports from livelihood professionals in the field

­ 5 ­LIVEwire October 2013

A case for teaching cases on livelihoods

In continuation with previous discussions in the LLG group on

case studies for livelihoods, members shared resources on

writing effective cases and teaching notes from Oikos and Eldis.

The Livelihood School shared experiences on case

writing/teaching workshops where participants were taught to

identify case leads, process data, analyze and then write

teaching cases. This is very much doable on a larger scale, it

was felt, after identifying thematic areas and organizations with

which members can collaborate to

document the cases. Other

members felt that old cases

continue to be relevant and a mix of

old and new teaching cases can give

a sense of history and how a sector

develops over a period of time. It is

also important to provide evidence and not opinions so that the

participants and students can analyze the evidence themselves,

debate choices and enhance learning.

It could also help, members suggested, to maintain an

information “dump” of facts, lessons learnt by the community,

etc. and then draw from this to develop cases based on the

audience. Keeping the target audience in mind is as important

in designing the format, it was suggested. Members also shared

examples of learning from diverse sectors including from ISRO

and international cases which have documented best practices

by organizations like PRADAN.

Setting an agenda for translating policy research

to practice

As stakeholders in the development sector, the role of

academics and researchers in facilitating effective policy

implementation is a critical one, asserts Suvojit Chattopadhyay

(LiveMint, June 21 2013). Translating policy research to

practice remains a key challenge and recent discussions in the

LLG point to recognition of this fact.

In December 2010, Andhra Pradesh passed a law that severely

restricted micro­finance institutions and brought the micro­

finance industry to an abrupt halt. An IGIDR research team

measured the impact of this ban and found that average

household expenditure dropped by 19 percent relative to a

control group after the ban. There is evidence of higher

volatility in consumption, especially a large decrease in

expenditure on food. The results suggest a fairly large negative

impact of the ban on micro­finance. While the law was enacted

to help the poor, it appears to have hurt them. LLG members

discussed that such studies indicate that government

interventions should be much more rooted in evidence and

warrants an increased role for academic research.

Policy research should be rational, rigorous, follow a

systematic approach and lead to better outcomes. In this

context, some LLG members questioned traditional

mechanisms for assuring research quality like peer review

and quality standards which do not necessarily deliver better

outcomes. A recent paper from the ESRC UK Centre for

Evidence Based Policy and Practice argues that

conceptualisations of research quality need to move beyond

a fixation with methodological quality, to address the ‘fitness

for purpose’ of research. A broader notion of research quality

should help researchers and

research users to feel confident

about the use of evidence in policy

and practice.

In this context, the Centre for

Microfinance at IFMR has recently begun research that

provides actionable knowledge on the livelihoods sector to

improve design, delivery and ultimately the impact of

livelihood programs. To begin with, CMF has compiled a list

of government schemes that focus on livelihoods promotion,

broken down by state.

Embracing innovations in livelihoods education

University World News recently reported that the Russian

government has led an innovative effort to launch a

university ranking system exclusively for the BRICS

countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This

initiative is intended to learn from comparable contexts in

countries with similar geography, population, and economic

development. Such efforts at reinventing higher education

are welcome for India which needs effective frameworks to

influence our pedagogies and curricula towards sustainable

development.

Another new frontier in education which has caught the

notice of academics and policy makers are MOOCs (Massive

Open Online Courses) and SPOCs (Self Paced Open

Courses). Civil society practitioners have embraced this

platform as a cost effective and efficient way of reaching

large numbers of learners, especially those who do not

necessarily have high academic qualifications.

CCoommmmuunnii ttyy EExxcchhaannggeeDialogue and debate in the Livelihoods Learning e-group

­ 6 ­LIVEwire October 2013

Keeping the targetaudience in mindis as important asdesigning theformat

Policy researchshould be rigorousand lead to betteroutcomes

MIT’s online platform edX offers a hugely popular course on

“The Challenges of Global Poverty”. Closer home in India, the

Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) as part of its

International Academy of Lifelong Learning (PIALL) has

launched MA and certificate courses

in Participatory Development and

related themes via the online

format. Further, philanthropic

agencies like the Wadhwani

Foundation, through its Skill

Development Network have floated

video­based courses coupled with

experiential learning for vocations in the hospitality, automobile

and retail sectors.

What does this mean for livelihoods education in India? While

the merits and demerits of online courses are open for debate it

is acknowledged that this opens new avenues for learning in

the development sector. It is important to note however that

besides contribution to knowledge, such innovations in

education should maintain a balance between hardware,

software and ‘orgware’, that is, the institutional actors

involved in the livelihoods sector, as pointed out by an LLG

member. Technology should be seen as an enabling factor

and not as THE panacea to the poverty question.

In this light the members shared different grassroots

experiments in livelihoods education. For instance, the

Bhoomi College in Bengaluru offers a one year Diploma in

Sustainability. What is interesting here is that the college

operates on a ‘gift economy’ where the students do not pay

fees thus making it another form of an “open course” except

that it is not online!

The role of student internships and volunteering is another

key element emerging in livelihoods education. The recent

signing of an MoU between JEEViKA and iVolunteer to recruit

nearly 170 student interns to organize the District Innovation

Forum for selecting grassroots innovations is a case in point.

Academics, civil society practitioners and policymakers need

to work closely to explore such emerging trends in

livelihoods education and utilize them for the benefit of the

poor and the marginalized.

CCoommmmuunnii ttyy EExxcchhaannggeeDialogue and debate in the Livelihoods Learning e-group

­ 7 ­LIVEwire October 2013

Innovations ineducation shouldmaintain abalance betweenhardware, softwareand ‘orgware’

RReeaaddeerrss WWrriittee

Very interesting stuff and congrats for bringing out what looks

like a very nice newsletter.

It might be nice to have the voice of the readers and others

come in more emphatically. So while there is a lot of news and

reporting, a dimension of opinion and perspective makes it

even more interesting. I also wonder if there might be space for

a regular section on statistics with one theme for every issue of

the newsletter and provide all the relevant statistics. E.g.

livelihoods based on non­timber forest produce in large parts of

tribal India. Is it also possible to look at various discussions and

developments in academia on the issue of livelihoods?

­ Pankaj Sekhsaria

Environmentalist and Writer

I found the content very useful and well presented. One

could see a lot of effort in putting together what we have

been reading on the livelihood group discussions.

­ Dr. KV Gouri

The Livelihood School

I have noticed many LLG members announcing about their

own research findings. I think the newsletter could highlight

the key points from those reports. As a reader, just reading

key findings will be helpful. We can then contact the authors

to follow up on the research.

­ Deepti KC

Centre for Microfinance, IFMR

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn,, nneewwss aanndd rreessoouurrcceess,, vviissiitthhttttpp::////lliivveelliihhooooddss­­mmaanntthhaann..nneett//

OOnn tthheewweebb

­ 8 ­LIVEwire October 2013

NNeewwss WWaattcchhLivelihoods related news and updates in the media

MoU signed between MoRD & Pradan for Rural

Empowerment

Ministry of Rural Development has signed a Memorandum of

Understanding with Pradan, to undertake developmental and

training activities in some of the naxal affected districts of

India. Two projects will be taken up initially by setting up NRLM

support organization on Livelihoods, besides extensive training

of the women self help groups.

SMS Portal for Farmers launched

An SMS portal for farmers, the Kisaan SMS Portal, was

launched by the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 16th July,

2013. The Kisaan Portal aims at delivering information,

advisories and services through SMS to more than 12 crore

farmers across the country.

NRLM to have Independent Evaluation soon

Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh has

called for an Independent Evaluation Mechanism to know the

impact of NRLM programmes on the ground. He said that up to

50 professionals from different walks of life will be recruited

soon to measure the impact of each of the components of the

NRLM.

Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation set up

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of the Bharat

Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) as an independent

charitable society to facilitate civil society collaboration with

Government for transforming livelihoods of rural households. Rs

500 crore will be released for creating the corpus fund of the

Society. The society will be constituted as a partnership

between Government and private philanthropies, as also

between private and public sector undertakings.

Street Vendors Bill passed by Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha has passed the Street Vendors (Protection of

Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012, which

brings relief to around 2% of the country’s population involved

in street vending. The bill provides for the protection of the

livelihood of all street vendors who have a vending certificate,

which will be issued by the Town Vending Committee.

Parliament passes stringent anti­manual

scavenging Bill

The Parliament has passed the Prohibition of Employment as

Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2013 seeking

to prohibit employment of individuals as manual scavengers. It

has provisions for rehabilitation of manual scavengers and their

family members as well. The Bill seeks to wipe out the “social

stigma” by arranging for alternative jobs and offering other

provisions to those in such work and their families.

SJSRY restructured as National Urban Livelihoods

Mission

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the

proposal for restructuring the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar

Yojana (SJSRY) in the 12th Plan as the National Urban

Livelihoods Mission (NULM). NULM aims to reduce vulnerability

of the urban poor through access to self­employment and

skilled wage employment opportunities, through building strong

grassroots level institutions of the poor.

Promoting sustainable livelihoods in the North

East

The North East Livelihood Promotion Society (NELPS) under the

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will

administer the World Bank funded North East Rural Livelihood

Project (NERLP) in Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

NERLP would benefit 30,000 rural families in select districts of

the region. Further, the Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods

Mission (NSRLM) has also begun operations in the state.

Kudumbashree draws training module for women

Special training modules are being prepared to help the

grassroots­level community workers of Kudumbashree to work

under the National Resource Organization (NRO) in seven

states across the country. The NRO secretariat of

Kudumbashree will prepare the modules after a first round of

interaction with the applicants who have expressed their

willingness to work as resource persons outside Kerala.

Battle for livelihoods between tribals and

industries in Odisha

A UN panel of experts urged South Korean steel giant Posco to

suspend plans for a $12 billion steel plant as it threatened the

livelihoods of thousands of people in Odisha. Posco has

rejected the recommendations as being “one­sided”.

Elsewhere, gram sabhas in the Niyamgiri Hills voted decisively

against mining by bauxite giant Vedanta as part of a $7.7

billion project. Tribals in Niyamgiri, regarded as a sacred hill,

have opposed the mining since 2006, because it destroys their

homes and livelihoods.

Do you have events, research or publications to share in LIVEwire?

Do you have any comments or feedback on this newsletter?

Are you looking to collaborate with others?

Would you like to be part of the Livelihoods Learning Group?

Email us at manthanlive@ximb.ac. in

Editorial Team

Joseph Satish V

C Shambu Prasad

Student Contributors from XIMB

Ankita Bhangadiya

Anubrata Basu

Karkhanis Varun Ajay

Shubhram Goswami

Produced by

Xavier Institute of Management,

Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar - 751 013

Odisha, INDIA

Ph: + 91 -674-6647 720

Email: manthanlive@ximb.ac.in

Web: http://livelihoods-manthan.net/

Livelihoods India Conference 2013

Access Development Services organizes the Livelihoods India

Conference 2013 on December 11­12 at New Delhi. The theme

for this year is “Quest for Scale”

oikos Case Writing Competition 2014

oikos has announced the Case Writing Competition 2014 to

promote the creation of high quality teaching cases on

Corporate Sustainability, Social Entrepreneurship and

Sustainable Finance. The deadline for case submissions is

December 9, 2013.

BAIF announces 4th batch of PGCDM

BAIF Development Research Foundation and S P Jain Institute

of Management and Research announces the 4th batch of Post

Graduate Certificate in Development Management (PGCDM)

starting 22nd November 2013. PGCDM aims at enhancing

managerial effectiveness in the development sector.

2nd National Symposium on Rural Management

The 2nd National Symposium on Rural Management will be

hosted at IRMA on December 14, 2013. The theme of this

year's event is "Engendering Rural Transformation".

National Immersion programme on IWMP

Sadhikaratha Foundation­APMAS is organising a National

Immersion on Integrated Watershed Management

Programme: Regeneration of Local Eco­systems and

Sustainable Livelihood Promotion at Hyderabad from 10­14

December, 2013.

Training Programme on Promotion of SHGs in

Urban Areas

Sadhikaratha Foundation­APMAS is organising a National

level Training cum Exposure Programme on Promotion of

Sustainable SHGs and SHG Federations in Urban Areas from

10­14 December, 2013.

EEvveenntt SSccaannUpcoming livelihoods events across the nation

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­ 10 ­LIVEwire October 2013