Rural India Livelihoods Project

In December 2015, 3ie was commissioned by the Gates Foundation for quality assuring and generating evidence on various aspects of the NRLM. We are conducting impact evaluations, quality-assuring selected evaluations on livelihood interventions and synthesizing and mapping the available evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of group-based livelihoods interventions. Key lessons from this work are expected to inform the design and expansion of the program.

Under the closely-related Swashakt evidence program, 3ie is also funding the implementation and evaluation of innovative projects to support women's collective enterprises operating in partnership with state rural livelihoods missions.

3ie collaborated with the rural development ministry, the Gates Foundation and the World Bank to conduct a large-scale evaluation across nine states where the National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) was implemented. This report underscores NRLP’s impacts on a range of household and individual level economic, social and empowerment outcomes. Its authors also assess the quality of institutions created by the program. This report is listed on the Indian government’s NRLM website as one of the key documents of the National Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (NRLPS) and can be accessed here.

Links to study outputs

• View impact evaluation report
• View impact evaluation brief (English | Hindi)
• View briefing note on farm-based activities
• View briefing note on financial inclusion
• View briefing note on institution building, women’s empowerment and convergence
• View IndiaSpend’s article on the evaluation

3ie evaluation continues to informs discussions in the Indian Parliament

In response to a question on SHG loans and results of studies on the impact of the DAY-NRLM, India’s new rural development minister, Giriraj Singh, mentioned 3ie's study and outlined its key findings in the Upper House of Parliament on 30 July 2021. This is the second time the study has been quoted in Parliament. 

In September 2020,  the report was cited in response to a question on the details and impacts of funding provided to SHGs under the DAY-NRLM.

In partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, Yale University and Vrutti Livelihoods Resources Centre, 3ie is producing thematic papers using the data collected for the NRLM evaluation.

• Understanding caste-based differences in self help groups: Evidence from India’s NRLM program
• Improving delivery and impacts of pro-poor programs
• The policies that empower women: empirical evidence from India’s National Rural Livelihoods Project
  Journal article | Report | Brief
• Women’s economic status and son preference: empirical evidence from private school enrolment in India
• Understanding India’s self-help groups: an organizational anatomy of functionality in a district in Madhya Pradesh

A full list of publications is available in the Related content section below.

Evidence gap map on group-based livelihood interventions in L&MICs
This map takes stock of available evidence on the impact of group-based livelihoods programmes on economic, social and empowerment outcomes in low-and middle-income countries.

View map | View report | View blog

Synthesis of livelihoods programmes in L&MICs
This report systematically reviews existing evidence from group-based livelihoods interventions in L&MICs with the objective of answering what works, how, why and for whom.

View report | View blog

Process and impact evaluation of a rural development programme in Bihar
3ie has conducted a process evaluation and an impact evaluation of the Women’s Advancement in Rural Development and Agriculture (WARDA) programme, which focuses on household economic welfare, as measured by income levels and women’s empowerment. Technoserve, JEEViKA and the Gates Foundation collaborated to provide technical assistance on this intervention, develop a multi-year roadmap to form and facilitate smallholding women farmers’ producer groups.

View process evaluation report | View media article

Can collectives help overcome challenges facing small and marginal farmers in India?
This brief summarises findings from a literature review that 3ie commissioned to understand how and whether farmer collectives have achieved their stated aims, and to analyse factors affecting their performance. This is part of a wider initiative to build and consolidate evidence on group-based livelihood initiatives in India.

View brief

• In this Ideas for India article, Anjini Kochar, C. S. Nagabhusana, Ritwik Sarkar, Rohan Shah, Geeta Singh talk about how financial access impacts women’s decision-making role in households.
• In this Ideas for India article, Chandan Jain, Krishna Kejriwal, Ritwik Sarkar and Pooja Sengupta analyze caste-based differences in self-help groups within the NRLM program. 
• This Indian Express article recaps a discussion on 'Women Collectives, Changemakers from the ground up' in which Dr Anjini Kochar spoke about financial inclusion. The panel discussion was held as part of the IE THINC Third edition.
• In this Hindustan Times article, Dr Anjini Kochar examines the reasons behind the low and declining labour force participation rate of women in India. 
• In this Hindustan Times article, Dr Anjini Kochar explains the persistence for son preference, particularly in private school enrolments in rural India.
• In a recent IndiaSpend article on the impact of COVID on women's collectives, Dr Bidisha Barooah talks about what needs to change in the existing program design.
• A new issue brief on ten years of the NRLM published by the Observer Research Foundation, cites 3ie’s evaluation and other work on self-help groups.
• An IndiaSpend article contextualizes 3ie's evaluation evidence and explores how NRLM, in particular women's SHGs, boost household income.
• In this Indian Express article, 3ie staff write about the barriers to effective implementation of farmer-producer companies.
• In an article for the Financial Express, Dr Anjini Kochar explains how the NRLM can help transform women's lives.