Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation

In Brief
Executive Committee........................................................................................................ 3
General Body ..................................................................................................................... 4
Geographical Focus........................................................................................................... 5
Thematic Focus ................................................................................................................. 5
Flagship Initiatives ............................................................................................................. 5
Current Projects ................................................................................................................. 7
Capacity Building ............................................................................................................. 14
Research and Knowledge Management ........................................................................ 14
Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation set up by UPA under government scanner 15
Private sector for livelihood initiative in Adivasi districts .......................................... 16
Sreelatha Menon: Rural band-aid .................................................................................. 17
Dr. Mihir Shah ................................................................................................................. 19
Leaders of Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) calls on Governor .......... 20

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Executive Committee
Category Name of the Member
President Dr. Mihir Shah
Member Secretary Chief Executive Officer, BRLF
Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development
Government of Joint Secretary (in-charge of BRLF), Ministry of Rural Development
India Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary (RD), Jharkhand
State Government Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary (RD), Chhattisgarh
Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary (RD), Odisha
Shri Sumit Bose, IAS (Retd.) National Institute of Public finance and
Policy (Former Finance Secretary Govt. of India)
Prof. Virginius Xaxa, Tezpur University, Assam
Prof. Ajay Dandekar, Shiv Nadar University, New Delhi
Prof. Vivek Bhandari, President, IIHMR University Jaipur
Prof. AR Vasavi, Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library,
New Delhi
Prof. Amita Baviskar, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi
Dr. Tushaar Shah, Senior Fellow, International Water Management
Institute (IWMI), Gujarat
Eminent Persons
Mr. G. N. Devy, Founder Director, Adivasi Academy, Tejgarh, Gujarat
Dr. Urmila Pingle, Managing Trustee, Centre for People‘s Forestry,
Hyderabad
Mr. Hasmukh Shah, Former Chairman, IPCL
Mr. Girish Prabhune, Punaruththan Samarasata Gurukulam, Pune
Lt. Gen. (Dr.) D.B.Shekatkar (Retd.), PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd),
National Convener of Forum for Integrated Security in India and Samarth
Bharat Vyaspeeth
Ms. Ireena Vittal, Member, Board of Directors, Godrej, Titan, Wipro,
Axis Bank
Chairperson, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Institutional- (NABARD)
Financial
Chairperson, State Bank of India
Dr. Anindya Chatterjee, Regional Director, IDRC New Delhi
Chairperson-cum-Managing-Director, Coal India Limited
Institutions-PSUs Secretary and Chief Accountant, Sir Ratan Tata Trust
Prof. S. A. Bari, Central University Gujarat
Chief Executive Officer, Axis Bank Foundation

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 General Body
Category Name of the Member
President Dr. Mihir Shah
Member Secretary Chief Executive Officer, BRLF; Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development
Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Government of India
Joint Secretary (in-charge of BRLF), Ministry of Rural Development
Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary (RD),
State Government Govt. of Jharkhand, Govt. of Chhattisgarh, Govt. of Odisha, Govt. of West
Bengal, Govt. of Rajasthan, Govt. of Gujarat), Govt. of Maharashtra, Govt. of
Madhya Pradesh, Govt. of Telangana
Prof. Virginius Xaxa, Tezpur University, Assam
Prof. Amita Baviskar, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi
Prof. Vivek Bhandari, President – IIHMR University, Jaipur
Prof. Ajay Dandekar, Shiv Nadar University, New Delhi
Prof. A.R. Vasavi, Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Delhi
Prof. Surinder Jodhka, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr. Urmila Pingle, Managing Trustee, Centre for People‘s Forestry, Hyderabad
Mr. G. N. Devy, Founder Director, Adivasi Academy, Tejgarh, Gujarat
Mr. Shivraj Singh, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Chhattisgarh
Mr. Mohanbai Hiralal, Convener, Vrikshamitra, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra
Ms. Ashwini Kulkarni, Founder, Pragati Abhiyan, Nashik
Prof. Rajiv Sinha, Head – Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Kanpur
Dr. Tushaar Shah, Senior Fellow, International Water Management Institute
(IWMI), Gujarat
Mr. Sumit Bose, IAS (Retd.), Vice Chairman, National Institute of Public
Eminent Persons Finance and Policy (former Finance Secretary, GoI)
Ms. Jayamala Subramaniam, CEO Arghyam, Bengaluru
Mr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra
Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Former Group General Manager and Country Head,
HSBC
Mr. Girish Prabhune, Punaruththan Samarasata Gurukulam, Pune
Lt Gen D.B. Shekatkar (Retd.), PVSM, AVSM, VSM, National Convener of
Forum for Integrated Security in India and Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth
Mr. Arun Lakhani, Member, Caring Friends, Mumbai
Mr. Vinayak Lohani, Founder Secretary and Head, Parivaar Bonogram, Kolkata
Mr. Babu Joseph, Former CEO, Axis Bank Foundation
Mr. Hasmukh Shah, Former Chairman, IPCL
Ms. Sushma Iyengar, Founder Member Kutch Abihyan and Kutch Mahila
Vikas Sangathan
Mr. Shankar Venkateswaran, Chief, Tata Sustainability Group
Ms. Ireena Vittal, Member, Board, Godrej, Titan, Wipro, Axis Bank
Chairperson, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Institutions-Financial
Chairperson, State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of India
Chairperson-cum-Managing-Director, Coal India Limited
Institutions-PSUs
Chairperson, Steel Authority of India Limited
Country Representative, Ford Foundation
Trustee & Adviser, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts
Secretary and Chief Accountant, Sir Ratan Tata Trust
Institutions-Philanthropic /Academic
Prof. S.A. Bari, Vice Chancellor, Central University, Gujarat
/R&D
Director, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)
Chief Executive Officer, Axis Bank Foundation, Mumbai
Dr. Anindya Chatterjee, Regional Director, Asia, IDRC, New Delhi
President, Confederation of Indian Industry
Institutions-Trade /Industries
President, FICCI

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Geographical Focus

The initial geographical focus of BRLF is the Central Indian Adivasi belt, centered on sub-
districts with more than 20% tribal population in 1077 sub-districts across 190 districts in the 9
States – Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan,
Telegana and West Bengal.

The initial focus is on sub-districts because Adivasis in India (outside of the North-East) tend to
be concentrated in sub-districts rather than districts. In order to ensure that the development and
governance process becomes truly inclusive and its benefits reach the tribals, a focus on sub-
districts is essential.

BRLF along with its CSO partners is determined to transform the lives of tribal people living in
1077 sub-districts through comprehensive programmes and collaborative efforts.

Thematic Focus

BRLF attempts to support its partner CSOs in projects that primarily focus on building
sustainable livelihoods through improved agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and forestry.
CSO partners also work on land and water resource development, local community institution
building, better implementation of social security schemes, capacity building of panchayati raj
institutions and community based organizations for enhanced participation, common property
resources, value chain development in agriculture and allied sectors and skill development of
rural youth, other government functionaries.

Other thematic focal areas of BRLF are integrated habitat improvement, food and nutrition
security, capacity building of stakeholders, and knowledge development/research that facilitates
and fosters sustainable livelihoods in the Central Indian Tribal belt.

BRLF has also undertaken various unique initiatives on certain pressing issues in the rural areas
of India which affect the livelihoods of the rural population immensely. These are known as the
flagship initiatives of BRLF.

Flagship Initiatives
Participatory Ground Water Management (PGWM)

Central Indian Tribal Region is critically afflicted with groundwater problems. Thus,
augmentation, conservation and protection of water resources are the top priorities of BRLF in
all of its projects. The rationale behind PGWM was to counteract the grim situation that has
emerged due to over exploitation of ground water and take adequate remedial action to arrest the
deterioration in agriculture output. To ensure the best handholding support to the partners for
implementation of PGWM, BRLF has partnered with ACWADAM and three other resource
agencies (ACT, WASSAN and PSI). Implementation of PGWM involves both high technical
knowledge and community mobilization skills. With the resource agencies, which bring technical
know-how to the initiative and BRLF partners, who have been working with the community for
many years and are spread across the breadth of the country, working together, this initiative is a
one of its kind in the country.

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This a pilot and is being currently implemented in 10 locations in the country with support from
10 BRLF partners and the resource agencies. BRLF plans to generate evidence and knowledge
from this pilot to make grounds for an informed national level strategy for groundwater
management in the country.

Non Pesticide Management Based Agriculture (NPMA)

As agriculture is one of the main livelihood activities for most of the tribes in the central Indian
belt, BRLF has initiated a mandatory component on NPM as part of the existing approved
projects to ensure sustainable agriculture, farmer profitability, soil protection, protection of
insect and animal bio-diversity and ensuring safety of food and water sources.

For the successful implementation of Non Pesticide Management based Agriculture, BRLF has
partnered with three resource agencies – Preservation and Proliferation of Rural Resources and
Nature (PRAN) and Safe Harvest. The resource agencies bring with them immense experience in
implementing NPMA and marketing its produce in varied geographies of the country. These
agencies provide knowledge support, handholding support for implementation, training support
and marketing support to the CSO partners of BRLF under this initiative.

The pilot has been initiated with 13 CSO partners of BRLF in May 2016. Each partner has also
formulated its scale-up plans for the project, to be implemented on successful implementation of
the pilot.

Water and Sanitation (WASH)

The objective of this initiative of BRLF is to facilitate and strengthen the implementation
capacities of the CSOs for successfully implementing the WASH programme in the Central
Indian Tribal belt of India. Through this initiative BRLF aims at supporting its partners for
implementation of Honourable Prime Minister‘s Flagship Programme, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The programme includes a selection of target villages, preliminary situational analysis, meetings
with village institutions, distribution of IEC materials and training of local resource persons on
construction of toilets.

BRLF has partnered with Utthan, a renowned name in the field of sanitation to provide technical
support to 10 CSO partners in the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. CSOs will
undertake pilots for the adoption of WASH in 2-3 villages in the intervention area. Under the
partnership Utthan will conduct training and capacity building events for BRLF partners and also
extend onsite hand holding support to BRLF partners for implementation of WASH
interventions.

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Current Projects

BRLF provide funding supports to a variety of projects across the breadth of the country,
particularly in 10 states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh,
West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra) that form the Central Indian Tribal
Belt. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that have a local presence, are selected through a multi-
layered process adopted by BRLF to ensure that the desired results are produced through right
strategies as well as great efforts.

BRLF provide funding support to CSOs either by inviting proposals through ―Call for
Proposals‖ or by entering into partnership with State Governments. Till date BRLF has
announced two ―Call for Proposals‖ for inviting proposals from the CSOs working in the
Central Indian Tribal Belt. BRLF select CSOs through a very rigorous and elaborated process
which includes physical and financial due diligence followed by a field assessment of their work.
The project proposal of the CSOs selected after due diligence process, are presented before the
Project Grantee and Selection Committee (PGSC) which is the apex level committee in BRLF
responsible for awarding projects to CSOs.

At present, BRLF is having partnership with 57 CSOs for implementation of large-scale

livelihood projects with an aim to uplift rural communities residing in the remotest part of the
country.

Call for Proposals – I

BRLF has announced its first Call for Proposals on April 15, 2014 soliciting applications from
civil society organizations for projects that seek to leverage vast resources from ongoing
government flagship programs in the central Indian tribal belt. The brief of projects being
implemented by BRLF is outlined in the below table:

Name of the
S.No. Brief about the Project
CSO Partner
BAIF
BRLF is supporting ―Adivasi Livelihood Project in Central India‖
Development
which is being implemented by BAIF. The project will cover 30,200
1. Research
households in 9 blocks of 7 districts of Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Foundation
Gujarat, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
(BAIF)
―Enhancing Tribal Livelihoods through Integrated Planning and
Aga Khan Rural
Implementation of Flagship Rural Livelihoods Activities‖ is being
Support
implemented by AKRSPI with support from BRLF in 16 blocks of 10
2. Programme
districts of the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The project is
India (AKRSP-
covering a total of 23,700 households with a focus on 100% tribal
I)
households.
Self- Reliant The project ―Jyotirgamaya (Light of development) livelihoods security
Initiatives for and building capacity among 16,000 tribal families in five districts
3. through Joint of Odisha, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh‖ with
Action SRIJAN covers 16,000 tribal households from 12 identified sub-
(SRIJAN) districts falling under these five states.
Foundation for The project ―Reaching the Last Mile: Strengthening Capacities in
4. Ecological Tribal Areas‖ with FES covers 29,897 families of seven tribal blocks in
Security (FES) six districts across Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,

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 and Gujarat.
It‘s a project implemented by consortium of four smaller CSO
partners. ―Ensuring food security and sustainable livelihood among
Sahariya tribes through effective implementation of flagship programs
PARHIT in Gwalior-Chambal region‖ is a project focussing on 100% Sahariya
5.
Consortium community, which is a PVTG (particularly vulnerable tribal group).
The project would cover 21,136 families from four identified sub-
districts coming under the Madhya Pradesh state through various set
of livelihood interventions.
Social
The project ―Integrated Livelihood Support Project‖ would impact on
Education for
19,754 extremely poor rural households in 106 selected villages of
6. Women‘s
Kolabira and Laikera blocks of Jharsuguda district and Kuchinda
Awareness
block of Sambalpur district.
(SEWA)
Professional
BRLF is supporting PRADAN in implementation of ―Catalysing
Assistance for
Large-scale Rural Transformation in Central Indian Adivasi Regions
7. Development
through Women Collectives‖. The project was implemented in 15
Action
blocks of 6 districts across Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Rajasthan.
(PRADAN)
Youth Council
The project named ―Enabling Tribal Community of Boudh and
for
Bolangir Districts, Odisha‖ with YCDA aimed to enable the 17,660
8. Development
tribal communities of Boudh and Bolangir districts to get access to the
Alternatives
government resources and schemes.
(YCDA)
With Digambarpur Angikar, BRLF is working on ―Socio-Economic
Digambarpur Empowerment of Tribal People at Sandeshkhali I & II Blocks in
9.
Angikar (DA) North 24 Parganas District, West Bengal in order to improve the
livelihood conditions of 11,000 poor households
Lupin Human
The project ―Natural Resources Development and Livelihood
Welfare &
10. Promotion through Convergence‖ covers 12,000 households in 156
Research
villages of Maharashtra.
Foundation
The project ―Promoting sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing of
households living in four blocks of Jalpaiguri district and one block in
North 24 Parganas, West Bengal‖ would target to cover 11,000
Rajarhat
11. households from 5 identified sub-districts falling under two districts of
PRASARI
West Bengal. These families would be supported through various set
of livelihood interventions from the ongoing programs and by
leveraging resources from various government schemes.
With VSK, BRLF is working with 13,000 poor households covered
Vikas Sahyog under the project named ―Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities and
12.
Kendra (VSK) Entitlement Security in Manika and Chattarpur blocks of Palamu and
Latehar districts of Jharkhand state‖.
The project titled ―15,000 poor and marginalized families in 25 Gram
Panchayats of Bolangir and Nuapada districts secure sustainable
Western Odisha
livelihood and food & nutrition security through sustainable
NREGA
13. agriculture and building strong self-help structures through
Consortium
convergence of different schemes and programmes of State and
(WONC)
Central government‖, is a consortium project being implemented by 7
CSO partners. It is focussed in two districts of Odisha covering 15,000

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 households from the seven identified sub-districts
BRLF‘s association with CInI has positively impacted the Mission
Collectives for
2020 programme of CInI that focusses on bringing 2,50,000
Integrated
households irreversibly out of poverty with increased quality of life.
14. Livelihood
Through ‗Mission 2020‘, CInI aims to develop 45 tribal blocks as
Initiatives
regional drivers for growth across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand
(CInI)
and Odisha.

Call for Proposals – II

BRLF initiated its second Call for Proposals on September 12, 2017 and received a total 180
proposals. Out of which only 10 projects were approved by the PGSC which are outlined in the
below table:

Name of the
S.No. Brief about the Project
CSO Partner
Centre for CYSD through its project titled ―Economic empowerment of tribal
Youth and women in Koraput district of Odisha‖ targets to cover 9,650
1. Social households through various sets of livelihood interventions. The
Development project is being implemented in 2 blocks of Koraput district of
(CYSD Odisha.
Sambalpur This project ―Enhancing livelihood opportunity and entitlement
Integrated security‖ is being implemented by SIDI in 2 blocks of Sambalpur and
2.
Development Deogarh districts of Odisha to cover 8,500 households under different
Institute (SIDI) livelihood activities mainly focussing on land rights -based activities.
Janasahajya would cover 8,183 households in one block of Kalahandi
district of Odisha through its project titled ―Enhancing options for
3. Janasahajya sustainable livelihoods‖ which focusses on facilitating community to
get access to various Rights and Entitlements schemes available in the
state.
―Empowerment, Economic and Ecological development of 8023
tribal households through community based natural resource
Ideal
management, convergence of government programs and improved
4. Development
governance‖ is a project implemented by IDA to bring sustainable
Agency (IDA
changes in the lives of 8023 poor households residing in the one block
of Keonjhar district of Odisha.
BDA is a consortium of three organizations working together to bring
changes in the lives of 10,000 families through the project titled
Bundelkhand ―Ensuring sustainable livelihood for tribal communities through
5. Development Forest Rights Act and watershed -based development in Bundelkhand
Alliances (BDA region of Madhya Pradesh‖. This project is being implemented by the
consortium in three blocks of Panna and Damoh districts of Madhya
Pradesh.
GSS through its project titled ―Participatory action for sustainable
livelihoods of tribal‖ is aiming to cover 9,000 households through
Gram Sudhar
6. multi -dimensional approach. These families residing in one block of
Samiti (GSS)
Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh will receive guidance and technical
support from GSS as and when required.
Shroffs This project ―Creating sustainable farm-based livelihoods through
7.
Foundation conservation of soil and water in the tribal areas of Chhotaudepur in

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 Trust (SFT) Gujarat‖ is being implemented by SFT in order to improve the
livelihood conditions of 11,608 tribal families by providing them
sustainable market linkages.
Vaagdhara is working with 8,000 tribal households falling under 3
blocks of Banswara district of Rajasthan through the project named
8. VAAGDHARA
―Sustainable integrated development of tribal community in district
Banswara‖.
CDA is an alliance of four organizations working in the remotest areas
Chhattisgarh of Chhattisgarh. The project titled ―Community action for climate
9. Development resilience and sustainable livelihood‖ implemented by CDA covers
Alliance (CDA) 8080 households coming under four identified sub-districts of
Balrampur, Bastar and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh.
The project titled ―Developing sustainable livelihood options for the
tribal households in 41 Gram Panchayats of Bodla and Pandariya sub-
Samerth
10. districts in Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh‖ implemented by
Charitable Trust
Samerth covers 8063 tribal households of Kabirdham district of
Chhattisgarh under various set of livelihood interventions.

High Impact Projects in Partnership with State Government

One of the prime purposes for establishment of BRLF was to leverage a new model of co-
operation wherein various state governments proactively work with civil society organizations to
address the problems and challenges of the tribal communities in the priority regions. Towards
this objective, BRLF has signed Memorandums of Understanding with state governments of
West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. These states have also shown keen interest in working
with the model adopted by BRLF.

Since, BRLF give priority to work in partnership with the State Governments, few of our
partners (CYSD, SIDI, Janasahajya, IDA, Samerth, CDA consortium, SEWA, YCDA and
WONC Consortium) from CFP-I and II are migrated to the State Government partnership
projects to maximize their reach and leverage the massive resources available at government end.

Briefs of the high impact projects implemented in partnership with the State Government:

Usharmukti – Effective implementation of MGNREGA in watershed mode in the

western part of the state of West Bengal

Usharmukti in general means free from dryness or drought. It is a partnership between West
Bengal- Mahatma Gandhi NREGA cell, Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) and a
group of Civil Society Organizations to bring about positive changes in water situation in the
rain-fed areas of 54 blocks of Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Birbhum, Paschim Medinipur and
Paschim Bardhaman of West Bengal state. As measures of ensuring water security the
partnership will endeavour to rejuvenate the decaying rivers of the targeted region and their
tributaries through focussed interventions in water conservation and harvesting. The
interventions will also aim at improving productivity of land by soil and water conservation
measures. Plantation with mandatory soil-water conservation structures will form major part of
the work. So, will be the activities in ensuring multiple livelihood supportive interventions in the
identified vulnerable households. There will also be efforts at nutrient management for the land
and flora through appropriate composting measures on one end and through cultivation of
pastures on the other.

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Usharmukti is a four years project with a focus on planning, implementation, participatory
management, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. The major resources will be
leveraged through Mahatma Gandhi NREGA which would provide employment to the wage
seekers and at the same time would develop sustainable productive assets. BRLF would provide
professional support in planning, capacity building, facilitative support in implementation,
monitoring and evaluation by engaging CSOs at the ground. Below is the list of CSOs involved
in the project:

 Development Research Communication and Service Centres

 Loka Kalyan Parishad (LKP)
 PRADAN
 Rural Development Association (RDA
 Shamayita Math (SM)
 Tagore Society for Rural Development (TSRD)
 Rajarhat PRASARI

Promotion of Agriculture Production Clusters (APCs) in tribal region of Odisha

On November 6‘ 2018, BRLF signed an MOU with the Directorate of Horticulture, Agriculture
and Farmer‘s Empowerment Department along with Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM),
Government of Odisha and PRADAN for Promotion of Agriculture Production Clusters
(APCs) in tribal regions of Odisha, in the presence of the Hon‘ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri
Naveen Patnaik. This four year project is a collaborative initiative of the Directorate,
horticulture, OLM, Government of Odisha, BRLF, PRADAN and 16 local CSOs to ensure
doubling of income of 100,000 small and marginal farmers especially women by establishing 650
Producer Groups (PG) aggregated to form 30 APCs/Producer Company (PC) in 40 blocks of 12
highland districts. Of these about 64% households belong to ST and SC Communities.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 401.60 crores (Rupees Four hundred one crore and sixty
Lakh only) out of which Odisha Livelihood Mission of Panchayati Raj & Drinking water
Department would support 70.06 crores for Institution and Capacity building cost, APICOL will
mobilise Rs.17.80 Crores, and Agriculture and Farmer‘s Empowerment Department and other
relevant departments would mobilize around Rs. 293.40 Crore or more through convergence of
existing programmes, while BRLF would bring in Rs. 16.74 Crore from its own resources and
around Rs. 3.6 Crore will be contributed by the participating CSOs for facilitation and smooth
implementation of the project.

The major focus of the project is to establish sustainable market channels through which farmers
could directly connect with the market players and maximize their benefits. The CSOs would
provide technical guidance to the farmers and help them in making the right decisions
collectively. CSOs engaged in the project are:

 Adhikar: Working in one block of Balangir

 Jana Mukti Anusthan (JMA): Engaged in one block of Balangir
 Anchalika Jana Seva Anusthan (AJSA): Engaged in one block of Kalahandi
 Vikalpa: Engaged in one block of Balangir
 Lokadrusti: Engaged in two blocks of Balangir
 Shramik Shakti Sangha (SSS): Engaged in one block of Balangir
 Balangir Gramodyog Samiti (BGS): Engaged in one block of Balangir
 Janasahajya: Engaged in two blocks of Kalahandi

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  Social Education for Women‘s Awareness (SEWA): Engaged in two blocks of
Jharsuguda
 Sambalpur Integrated Development Institute (SIDI): Engaged in two blocks of
Sambalpur
 Ideal Development Agency (IDA): Engaged in two blocks of Keonjhar
 Foundation for Ecological Security (FES): Engaged in two blocks of Koraput
 Harsha Trust: Engaged in five blocks of Koraput and Raygada
 Shristi: Engaged in three blocks of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Dhenkanal
 Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN): Working in the 10 blocks
of Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Raygada, Koraput and Mayurbhanj
 Centre for Youth & Social Development (CYSD): Engaged in three blocks of Koraput
and Mayurbhanj
 Youth Council for Development Alternatives (YCDA): Engaged in one block of Boudh

High impact Mega-Watershed project in partnership with Department of Rural

Development, Govt. of Chhattisgarh, Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation and CSO
partners:

This project was formally launched on 5th October 2018 between Mahatma Gandhi NREGA
Cell, Department of Panchayat and Rural Development, Govt. of Chhattisgarh, Bharat Rural
Livelihoods Foundation and Axis Bank Foundation. It is estimated that a total of 1 lakh families
would be benefitted through land and water treatment measures in 7.29 lakhs hectares of
catchments area in 28 blocks of 13 districts (Sarguja, Surajpur, Raigarh, Korba, Koriya,
Dhamtari, Balrampur, Kanker, Narayanpur, Sukma, Bastar, Dantewada and Kawardha) in
Chhattisgarh state. Along with this, the project aims to build capacities of front-line
functionaries, PRIs, community members and CSOs on ridge to valley principles of watershed
implementation.

The cost of this four years project is estimated as Rs. 1190.58 crores out of which MGNREGA
cell, Department of Panchayat and Rural Development, Govt. of Chhattisgarh will ensure
availability of funds for the implementation of approximately 1458 micro-watersheds to be
treated with an estimated sum of Rs. 1166.40 crores over a period of four years. BRLF will invest
Rs. 24.18 crores through its own resources or through co-financing mainly with Axis Bank
Foundation to support the project cost mainly in meeting CSO facilitation cost, setting up of
project management unit, capacity building, research and monitoring cost. CSOs involved in the
project are:

 Chaupal Gramin Vikas Prashikshan Avam Shodh Sansthan

 Agrocrats Society for Rural Development (ASORD)
 Bastar Sewak Mandal (BSM)
 Centre for Action Research and Management for Developing Attitude, Knowledge and
Skills in Human Resources (CARMDAKSH)
 Lok Shakti Samiti (LSS)
 PRADAN: Lead Partner
 Sahabhagi Samaj Sevi Sanstha
 Samarthan- Centre for Development Support
 Samerth Charitable Trust (SCT)
 Sangata Sahabhagi Gramin Vikas Sansthan
 Sarguja Gramin Vikas Sansthan (SGVS)
 Shamayita Math (SM)
 Self- Reliant Initiatives through Joint Action (SRIJAN)

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Apart from these, BRLF has also been invited by Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand
government to join hands with them and replicate the established models in these three states.

Special Projects:

BRLF is always open to new ideas, innovations and methodologies leading to the welfare of the
smaller and marginal farmers. Apart from engaging its partners through CFP and state
partnerships, BRLF has also partnered with the CSOs through some special projects:

Spring-shed Management in four Himalayan Districts of West Bengal: BRLF joined hands
with Mahatma Gandi NREGA Cell, Department of Rural Development, Govt. of West Bengal
and Rajarhat PRASARI on 1st April 2017 with an objective to rejuvenate the drying springs
across the northern Himalayan blocks in four districts (Darjeeling, Alipurdar, Kalingpong and
Jalpaiguri) of West Bengal. This project is backed by the technical expertise of ACWADAM, an
organization that would provide mentor role in shielding the spring-shed development
programme with strong technical knowledge and field experience. The major components of the
project include science- based aquifer mapping, field surveys, scientific analysis, facilitation and
building community decisions on sustainable usage and utilization of springs. It is estimated that
this project would rejuvenate about 618 springs by leveraging massive resources through
MGNREGA. This pilot project not only aligns the government resources towards building
durable and sustainable assets for community members but also provides a scope for joint
advocacy and learning. The project aims to leverage approx. Rs. 2968 lakhs through
MGNREGA department over the course of three years to treat 618 springs and BRLF would
also put in its own resources approx. Rs. 72.30 lakhs to support the cost of CSOs.

Enhancing Livelihood of DNT and NT communities: The project titled ―Ensuring

empowerment of community and enhancing livelihood opportunities for de-notified and
nomadic tribes of Maharashtra‖ was launched on 1st April 2017 with an objective to explore the
livelihood opportunities for DNT and NT communities by redefining their traditional skills and
creating business opportunities for their sustainability. This three years partnership with
Sevavardhini, a Pune based NGO, will ensure the improved livelihood and living condition of
500 DNT/NT families residing in the Solapur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra state.

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Capacity Building

Capacity Building is one of the important verticals that BRLF has decided to work on to build
the capacities of rural professionals in the country, who are otherwise not available at the
grassroots. BRLF has designed a unique and an innovative training program called the Certificate
Program in Rural Livelihoods (CPRL) to address the challenge of scarce trained human
resources at the field level particularly focused on tribal areas. BRLF has joined hands with
IIHMRU, Jaipur to run this flagship Capacity Building initiative for tribal youth aged between 18
to 40 years from the Central India Tribal belt.

CPRL incorporates a series of capacity building modules on Rural Livelihoods, packaged as per
the needs of the target groups and different institutional partners (both Government and CSOs).
This certificate program is conducted at multiple locations; where BRLF supported CSOs
provide field-based training on modules that they have experience and expertise in the fields.

CPRL is a 6-month certificate program, consisting of 15 learning modules, divided into two main
parts: Part A covers the theoretical and conceptual aspects of rural livelihoods while Part B
focuses on the empirical studies and practical implications of the theory. In a nutshell, CPRL
seeks to address the capacity building challenge for existing and aspiring rural professionals who
would potentially engage as frontline functionaries of CSOs, government institutions or with
offices of elected representatives of the PRIs and SHG federation leaders.

BRLF in collaboration with IIHMRU has successfully completed 4 batches of CPRL with a
collective strength of 116 tribal students graduating under it. While the first batch of CPRL
started on 15th of November‘ 2016, covering a journey of great learning and experiences across
13 locations in 7 states, the fourth batch got completed on 29th of May‘ 2019.
Encouraged by the fruitful results of 4 batches, BRLF is going to conduct successive batches of
CPRL, with the fifth batch commencing in August 2019.

Apart from the CPRL, BRLF in close collaboration with IIHMRU has come up with a MBA
program in Rural Management which seeks to address the challenges of sustainable
development. This two-year, practitioner-oriented MBA aspires to create professionals who will
work at the grassroots. Currently, 13 tribal graduates are being sponsored by BRLF which
includes three pass outs from CPRL‘s 1st & 2nd batch.

Taking further its mandate of providing capacity building support to rural professionals, BRLF
has entered into a partnership with Jharkhand State Livelihoods Promotion Society (JSLPS) with
an objective to train the field professionals of JSLPS on various facets of Livelihoods. As the
first step, BRLF with support from its knowledge partners has developed a 26 days‘ training
programme called ‗Short term training programme on Rural Livelihoods‘. The first batch of the
programme with a strength of 25 candidates was launched on 24th of May‘ 2019.

Research and Knowledge Management

Research and knowledge management activities are the key to effective planning and execution
for projects. Progressing on this premise, BRLF emphasises on the collection, documentation,
diffusion and dissemination of information by various means including, inter alia, the verbal,
written, audio, visual, audio-visual, online and theatrical mediums. The Research and Knowledge
Hub of BRLF is soon going to become the national knowledge platform for information and

14
support on issues of NRM and Livelihoods for rural communities, CSOs and Government
Institutions.

To meet the long-term goals and objectives, BRLF is conducting research and studies on areas
that are important and relevant to state governments. For example, BRLF has carried out a study
for the Rajasthan State Rural Livelihood Mission (Rajeevika) which analyzes the successes and
challenges under the NRLM-MGNREGA convergence through the Cluster Facilitation Team
(CFT) project in ensuring enhanced livelihood opportunities for households through the creation
of productive and quality assets under the Category B works of MGNREGA.

Development of knowledge resources with the BRLF‘s partners is already in progress. These
collaborative studies will form a part of the livelihoods repository that BRLF plans to create,
initially of the exceptional work being done by CSOs/private philanthropists/CSRs in Central
India tribal regions and then move to work in other tribal areas of the country.

Apart from working with various state governments in the Research and Knowledge
Management vertical and taking part in joint studies with the partner CSOs, BRLF also conducts
independent research studies on sustainable livelihoods and allied activities on a regular basis.
Through these studies BRLF plans to bring forth the challenges in implementation of various
government schemes and programmes and make recommendations for successful
implementation of the same.

Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation set up by UPA under government

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By PTI | Updated: Jun 25, 2014, 06.30 PM ISTPost a Comment

The foundation was created to replace scandal-hit CAPART a major promoter of rural
development in India.

NEW DELHI: A foundation set up by the previous UPA government and including members
of the erstwhile National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi is under the scanner of the
new government which will have to provide funds for it to the tune of Rs 300 crore over the
next few years.

The Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF) was created in 2013 by a Cabinet decision and
the Narendra Modi government is assessing whether to continue with it, official sources said
here today.

Soon after its creation, the Rural Development Ministry under Jairam Ramesh had signed a
memorandum with the foundation for disbursement of funds to NGOs working in the tribal
belts, particularly central and eastern parts of the country.

Under the memorandum, Rs 200 crore has already been provided to the foundation and Rs 300
crore is to be paid in the next two or three years.

15
The sources said the foundation was "built around the personality of the then minister
(Ramesh)" and is being re-assessed.

With the foundation coming under the scanner, Ramesh today defended the decision to create
the BRLF society, describing it as a "major institutional innovation" for pushing development in
the tribal districts.

The foundation was created to replace scandal-hit CAPART (Council for Advancement of
People's Action and Rural Technology), a major promoter of rural development in India.

"Learning from the experience of CAPART, the BRLF is a major institutional innovation in
social entrepreneurship and long-term capacity building in some of India's most difficult areas,"
he said in a statement here.

Private sector for livelihood initiative in Adivasi districts

MUMBAI:, April 15, 2012 01:58 IST

Updated: April 15, 2012 01:58 IST

The Centre has plans to invite private sector contributions for the Bharat Rural Livelihoods
Foundation (BRLF) for India's Adivasi-dominated districts, including the ―Naxal-affected‖ ones.
Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has called upon top companies to support
the initiative.

―I have written to the Tatas, Reliance, Infosys, Wipro. It will be a public-private-partnership

model. The Foundation will be an independent body with a full-time professional CEO. On
[April] 27 we have called a meeting of non-government organisations, donors and State
governments. We are hoping to get a good response from the private sector,‖ Mr. Ramesh told
reporters on Saturday, on the sidelines of a review meeting with the National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development.

Mr. Ramesh said the Foundation ―will work with civil society organisations‖ directly in 170
Adivasi districts. ―Its function will be to build institutions and capacity of NGOs working in
livelihood areas, such as dairy, watershed management, women's empowerment, in these difficult
districts.‖

The Foundation will raise an initial corpus of Rs. 1,000 crore, of which Rs. 500 crore will come
from the Centre and the remaining from the private sector.

Voicing strong opposition to the draft microfinance bill, Mr. Ramesh said the bill could not
promote microfinance institutions (MFIs) at the cost of self-help groups.

―The microfinance bill as currently drafted will have adverse impact on the SHG movement in
India. It should not kill the SHG movement in the desire to promote MFIs. I have given my
comment to [Union Finance Minister] Pranab Mukherjee.‖

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Mr. Ramesh said his ministry was keen on expanding women's SHGs in the country. ―Seventy
per cent of the 45 lakh women's SHGs are concentrated in south India — in Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They account for 80 per cent of the credit.‖

The focus would be on expanding SHGs in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Gujarat. He said the total bank lending to SHGs
was Rs. 14,500 crore in 2010, but the volume of bank finance to SHGs had not increased. The
government is mulling over having an explicit target for lending to SHGs under the priority
sector lending of banks. Making bank lending flexible to the needs of the women's groups was
also a crucial step.

The Ministry also aimed at increasing the number of SHGs from 45 lakh to 90 lakh and
members from five crore to 10 crore in the next five years, Mr. Ramesh has said.

Mr. Ramesh saw a crucial role for the SHGs in the ―sanitation revolution‖ in India. ―If the 2.65
lakh gram panchayats have to be open defecation-free, you have to involve the SHGs,‖ he said.

Asked about the Land Acquisition Bill, Mr. Ramesh said the Standing Committee was likely to
submit its report in the next two weeks.

He remained sceptical about the food-for-work programme, seeing it as a ―recipe for widespread
corruption.‖

business-standard.com

Sreelatha Menon: Rural band-aid

Sreelatha Menon

Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation, which channels CSR

funds, is silent on the reasons for rural distress
After making policies that lead to exclusion of a large section of the population, the government
comes up with schemes that seek to heal some of these wounds.

The Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) is an instance of such a band-aid approach.
Apart from the government kitty of Rs 500 crore, the foundation has a licence to gather
whatever it can of the funds spent by industry on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Mihir
Shah, BRLF president, member of the Planning Commission and former civil society activist,
says the new Companies Act makes donations to BRLF a permissible CSR activity. One of the
first donors to BRLF was former Tata Sons chief Ratan Tata, who contributed Rs 10 crore.

Civil society members, however, aren't too convinced these efforts would resolve the problem of
exclusion, especially among Scheduled Tribes that BRLF targets. Amita Joseph, lawyer and civil
society activist, says the first premise of CSR is to do no harm. Therefore, in the case of BRLF,
contributors, who are part of the problem, cannot be part of the solution, she says.

17
BRLF does not propose to ask these larger questions, as is evident from a concept note - it looks
at livelihood creation in isolation. It seems it presumes money alone will solve all problems and,
therefore, CSR funds, as well as funds from other sources, will help the cause of rural
livelihoods. But seldom have funds alone been enough. No amount of funding, whether from
British aid agencies, Danish ones or the World Bank, has been able to remove either poverty or
illiteracy.

Vital questions remain. What caused eight million people to quit farming in the past decade,
according to the census? What caused a large number of farmer suicides in the past two decades?

Before merely providing livelihoods, BRLF should first look at the causes of rural distress, says
Joseph. If the policies support a real estate boom that depends on aggregating farm lands, how
can rural agrarian distress be resolved by mere livelihood creation, she asks.

P V Rajagopal, who has been fighting for the cause of the displaced, is part of the BRLF general
body. He says the foundation is looking purely at the creation of livelihoods, not about
displacement or its causes. And, many BRLF members aren't sure of the future of the
foundation, considering the Lok Sabha elections are just months away. A member said the
foundation might either be wound up or see new members once a new government was in place.

As it stands now, BRLF is meant to "foster and facilitate civil society action in partnership with
government for transforming the livelihoods and lives of people in areas such as the central
Indian Adivasi belt". It aims to support grass root-level action towards empowering people and
scaling up innovative approaches. It also seeks to leverage resources available for rural
development initiatives such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme.

While a partnership between non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and industry for the
creation of livelihoods is a novel approach, the question is whether NGOs would be able to
work in Naxal-hit areas at a time when these entities have been facing scrutiny and persecution
over this.

First Published: Sat, November 16 2013. 21:48 IST

18
Dr. Mihir Shah

From 2009 to 2014, Mihir was Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, holding
the portfolios of Water Resources, Rural Development and Decentralised Governance. He is the
youngest ever Member of the Planning Commission. He is also the first President of the Bharat
Rural Livelihoods Foundation, which supports innovative civil society action in close partnership
with state governments.

Mihir was chiefly responsible for drafting the paradigm shift in the management of water
resources enunciated in the 12th Five Year Plan. He also initiated a makeover of Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the largest employment
programme in human history, with a renewed emphasis on rural livelihoods based on
construction of productive assets.

Mihir graduated in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University (where he won the
prestigious KC Nag Economics Prize) and did his post-graduation from the Delhi School of
Economics (where he was Merit Scholar) in the 1970s, before going on to complete a much-
acclaimed doctoral dissertation at the Centre for Development Studies, Kerala.

After teaching for some years at the Centre, he resigned to explore fresh terrain beyond the ivory
towers of conventional academia, which culminated in 1990 in the formation of Samaj Pragati
Sahayog (SPS). Inspired by the life and work of Baba Amte, SPS is today one of the largest grass-
roots initiatives for water and livelihood security, working with its partners on a million acres of
land across 72 of India‘s most backward districts. Before being invited by the Prime Minister to
join the Planning Commission in 2009, Mihir spent 20 years of his life living and working in
some of the most disadvantaged tribal areas of the country, forging a new paradigm of inclusive
development.

Mihir is Visiting Faculty at Ashoka University, where he teaches a very popular course on the
Political Economy of India’s Development 1947-2014. He is a Member of the International Steering
Committee of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). Mihir is
Chair of the Revitalising Rainfed Areas Network in India. He is a Member of the Board of
Governors of the National Foundation of India. From 2013 to 2015, he was also a Member of
the Board of Governors of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

He has addressed audiences on his life‘s work all over the world from Stanford University to the
World Bank in Washington, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) in Paris, the Arctic Circle in Iceland, Chatham House and University College, London,
UNESCO-IHE at Delft, the International Water Management Institute in Colombo and the
Singapore Water Week. He was the Keynote Speaker at the Global Water Summit in Rome in
2012.

19
Leaders of Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) calls on Governor

Aizawl, March 29: Leaders of Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) today called on
Mizoram Governor Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma (Retd.) at Raj Bhavan here.

They apprised the Governor of the initiatives of BRLF for the progress of rural people and told
the Governor that the same can be made useful of for the rural people of Mizoram.

BRLF Board members also told the Governor that they are ready to contribute their ability and
expertise in order that the rural people of Mizoram may come to know the right way of earning
livelihood.

Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation is a society established by the Central government to help
the rural people find reliable means of livelihood.

Governor Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma (Retd.) on his part commended the objectives and initiatives
of BRLF saying that the same is in line with the State Government Flagship Programme
order neurontin onlin e

NLUP.

He suggested if BRLF could cooperate with the Mizoram government and NGOs in the State,
adding that the NGOs in Mizoram have been cooperating with the government and that their
contribution for the progress of the people is great.

Even if BRLF has a plan for Mizoram, it is advisable to carry out the same in cooperation with
the NGOs, the Governor said, and also advised the BRLF leaders that using Central Agriculture
University, Selesih as a key partner would be profitable.

The visiting BRLF team was led Lt Gen DB Shekatkar, Board Member, BRLF and Lt Gen VM
Patil, Board Member, BRLF.

Zulfiqar Haider, CEO, BRLF informed the Governor that they had also met with Chief
Secretary and other leaders of Mizoram government.

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