Socio-economic Empowerment of Rural Poor through Sustainable Community Institutions in Bihar JEEViKA Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) - State Rural Livelihoods Mission (SRLM) Government of Bihar

Bihar : Background Bihar Area - 2.8% of India, population - 8% of the country 81% depend on agriculture - 70% small & marginal farmers Average landholding - 0.07-0.22 ha & usually no irrigation Average food security - for 4-5 months for small holders CD ratio 32%, much below the national average of 73% 54.4% live Below Poverty Line Non-existence of complementary community institutions to participate in development process Low investment by formal sector leading to poor accessing credit at exorbitant interest rate from informal sources Lower productivity – alienated small holders, increasing uncultivated land & food insecurity

BRLPS registered in 2006 & project JEEViKA started in October 2007. JEEViKA : at a Glance BRLPS registered in 2006 & project JEEViKA started in October 2007. Outreach : Rural Poor HHs 7.5 lakh in 55 Blocks of 9 districts. Mission: Social & Economic Empowerment of Rural Poor through self managed community institutions of women Effective BRLPS Executive Committee: headed by Dev. Comm. Systematic Pro poor targeting model & Saturation approach Building Social Capital – “Community Cadre” Convergence with Line Depts, Business relationship with Bankers & Partnership with service provider agencies Exclusive system development in COM, Fin. & Admin, procurement, HR manual & its continuous updating

JEEViKA :Vision Each SHG member should have accessed cumulative credit of Rs. 1 Lakh. have retired all high cost debt . have Invested a major part of credit in a basket of income generating activities (2 or 3 livelihoods). have generated income Rs. 10,000 / pm (incremental). Have substantially reduced expenditure on health and become food secured throughout the year. come out of poverty in 5 to 7 years time frame

Social & Economic Empowerment of the Rural Poor through : JEEViKA : Objective Social & Economic Empowerment of the Rural Poor through : Self Managed SHGs established, covering at least 80% of the target household At least 50% of those who have received CIF have increased income by at least 30% of the baseline At least 50% of SHG members have reduced high cost debts from informal sources Creating self managed community institutions of poorest of the poor and poor households. Enhancing income through sustainable livelihoods. Increasing access to social protection including food security through a greater voice.

JEEViKA : Presence YEAR Block Cum. Block District BRLP BKRFP SRLM 2006 5 2007 13 18 6 2009 26 44 8 24 2 2010 11 55 9 2012 113 168 38 60 53 102

JEEViKA : Dedicated Support Structure Dedicated Society General Body and Executive Committee State Project Management Unit PD cum CEO supported by thematic experts & support staffs District Project Coordination Unit District Project Manager supported with specialists Block Project Implementation Units a Team consisting of Block Project Manager, Area Coordinators, and Community Coordinators Cadre of Community Resource Persons, Book Keepers and Community Mobilisers

JEEViKA : Institutional Architecture BLF - 2 CLF 6% Interest VO CBLF 12% Interest SHG 24% Interest PG Members

1. Community Institutions Development Formation & Strengthening of JEEViKA : Components 1. Community Institutions Development Formation & Strengthening of a. SHG’s and its Federations b. Producers Groups Community Investment Fund a. Initial Capitalization Fund b. Livelihood Fund c. Health Risk Fund and Food Security Fund Special Technical Assistance and Development Fund a. MF Investment & Technical Assistance (MITA) b. Innovations & Partnership with NGOs Project Management a. HR Management b. Monitoring and Evaluation c. Communication

JEEViKA : Framework Livelihoods Enhancement Vulnerability Reduction Financial Inclusion Savings, Credit Insurance Remittances Help Desks at Banks Banking Correspondents Productivity Enhancement Agriculture (SRI, SWI, PVSP) Dairy & Small Ruminants Bee Keeping Fisheries , Makhana Non-farm incl. Art & Crafts Market Access Collective Marketing Producer Companies Market Partnerships Jobs and Skill Development Institutional Platforms of the Poor (SHGs & Federations) Vulnerability Reduction Access to Entitlements BPL Cards PDS Cards Job Cards Social Pensions Food Security Land Leasing Productivity Enhancement Food Rations from PDS Collective Purchase of Food Health Security Health Savings Loans from Health Risk Fund Women Outreach Workers Mobile Clinics

“Self Exclusion Targeting Model” & “Saturation” approach JEEViKA : Key Features “Self Exclusion Targeting Model” & “Saturation” approach Building Social Capital - “Community Cadre” Working on both - “Demand” & “Supply” Dedicated support structure Investment in capacity building & performance monitoring Convergence with Line Departments, business relationship with bankers & partnership with service provider agencies. Exclusive system development & its continuous updating

JEEViKA : Journey of Nirmala Devi, Shekhwara Before joining SHG: Landless Mahadalit, got 1 acre Bhudan land - low-productive Family - Husband & 3 Sons Average 15 days/month daily labour 2 quintal of rice/annum (Rs. 2000) Incurred high cost debt of 10,000 @ 120%/annum Mortgaged half of her land As the interest was rising, sold the only cow & repaid 5500 Lost all hopes Joined Suraj SHG in 2006 motivated by CRPs from AP

JEEViKA : Journey of Nirmala Devi, Shekhwara After Joining SHG: Took 3 small loans from savings: 200, 300 & 500 for health needs Took 5000 from ICF to start a grocery shop, earning 2000/month Two sons trained under DRF & earn 150/day for 15 days/month She is a senior CRP now, moves out to mobilise and earns also She cleared all high cost debts and mortgaged land Husband tried SRI and got 5 quintal amounting Rs. 5000 Her family income raised from 1500 to 7000/month Gets regular food grains - right price & quantity from VO run PDS Set to take another loan to settle her last son in business/dairy Great difference she feels is a debt free, tension free happy life

Social Inclusion

Achievement (till June,12) JEEViKA : PROGRESS S.N. Parameters Achievement (till June,12) 1. No of HH Mobilized into SHG fold 771693 2. No of SHG formed 59105 3. No of VO formed 3795 4. No of CLF Formed 36 5. No of SHGs having Bank Account 43140 6. No of Groups recd. ICF 37415 7. No of SHGs Linked with Banks 26877 8. Amount Mobilized from Bank (Rs in crore) 137.47 9. No of Youth Placed 2600 10. No. of SHG members in Livelihoods intervention 192000 11. No of DCS Formed 234 No. of VOs Participated in the Food Security 2012 12. No. of VOs Participated in Health Risk Intervention 2314 13. No of SHG member linked with Social Security 32859 14. No of SHG member linked with the Insurance 123000

JEEViKA : IMPACT Sample 2666 HHs completed 3 years, shown the following results-

SIGNATURE LITERACY

JEEViKA : IMPACT Sample 4000 HHs - 400 villages completed 3 years, shown the following results- HHs showed better saving habit in Treatment Villages ----- 58% more HHs taking High Cost debts in Control Villages ----- 2.67 times more HHs likely to invest their loans in Livestock's in Treatment Villages- 2.4 times more 177% HHs increased their ownership of Bullocks. 59% HHs increased their ownership of Cows. ECONOMIC EFFECTS 27% HHs faced lower food shortage in Treatment Villages FOOD SECURITY 33% more women can sign & 4% more women could read in Treatment Villages. 5% more Women participated in Panchayat meeting in Treatment Villages. 5% more Women visited Health Centers. EMPOWERMENT

Exposure of the Project   Her Excellency, Honorable President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil’s Presidents’ Secretariat has invited JEEViKA on 11th August 2010 for presentation on rainfed farming : its opportunities and challenges with specific reference to System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and System of Wheat Intensification (SWI). The World Bank President Mr. B. Zoellick and Country Director Mr. Roberto Zeiga visited the Project and met community members from the project. A NATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON SCI was organised by the Project in which Prof. Norman Thomas Uphoff from Cornell University, USA; Dr. Erika Styger with experience of working in Africa and Ms. Susan Burnell Edwards, Director-Institute for Sustainable Development-Addis Ababa, Ethiopia have participated. The Project was honored by the “SKOTCH CHALLENGER AWARD” for livelihoods intervention.

JEEViKA : Positive Factors Display of leadership / Team Work: Pilot of all interventions with small numbers in a focused manner Expert agency/Special spearhead teams to undertake the pilot Based on learnings, refinement made in implementation strategy Standard guideline prepared for scaling up  Sustainability factor: Institutions managed by the community Financial viability over time Active Sub-committees in the VOs CRP Strategy Community professionals as driving force Web Enabled MIS: For effective monitoring of outcome indicators

JEEViKA : Dedicated Support Structure Dedicated Society General Body and Executive Committee State Project Management Unit PD cum CEO supported by thematic experts & support staffs District Project Coordination Unit District Project Manager supported with specialists Block Project Implementation Units a Team consisting of Block Project Manager, Area Coordinators, and Community Coordinators Cadre of Community Resource Persons, Book Keepers and Community Mobilisers

JEEViKA : Sustainable CBOs Formation of CBOs and their quality nurturing Mobilisation starts from the poorest hamlets Focus on vulnerable sections like SCs, STs, minorities, differently able, landless, migrants, isolated HHs etc Formation of quality SHGs based on “affinity” & “neighbourhood” Standardized COM, Training modules etc for intensive capacity building of the SHGs and their federations Development of livelihood groups (Producer Groups) and their federations (Producer Cooperatives/Companies) Creating the federations as centre point of all entitlements Block Level Federation to act as sustainable community managed agency in a span of 5-7 years

JEEViKA : Sustainable CBOs CBOs to be self managed, supported by community cadres Taking support of Community Resource Persons (CRP): Selected & trained best practising members mobilise in new areas CRPs as agents of change & no dependence on outside factor Development of Master Trainer CRPs for training by the community ii. Knowledge Rooting at Community Level: Social assets - cadre of Community Mobilizers and Book Keepers Community managed extension system in agriculture – VRPs The federations monitor & release payment to community cadres Sub committees function to plan, execute and monitor activities

JEEViKA : Financial Inclusion Financial assistance to the poor through Capitalization: Uniform books of records Participative Micro Planning (MP) at community level Community Investment Fund (CIF) for capitalization Range of requirements kept open ended and as per MP Debt reduction & mitigate other vulnerabilities Designing of financial products : Health Risk Fund Food Security Fund Streamlining Mainstream Bank Finance: Partnership (MOUs) with Commercial Banks & RRBs Banks came forward to facilitate the process Financial Inclusion

JEEViKA : Financial Inclusion Exposure Visit of Branch level & Senior Officials of Banks Improving quality of service delivery by setting up ‘Bank Mitra-Help Desks’ at branches Bank Mitras are community members trained to facilitate banking procedures at the branches for SHG members It reduced banking time for the poor Ratification of Bank Mitra policy by SLBC Formation of a Steering Committee of SLBC on SHG financing and Financial Inclusion Enhancing the credit limit of SHG’s to minimum of Rs. 50,000/- Ensuring issuance of directions from different Bank’s HOs Ensuring timely supply of stationery from Banks for SHGs

JEEViKA : Reduction of Vulnerability Strategies for Enhancing Food Security Productivity enhancement in cereal crops Community managed Food Security Mechanism (FSF) Enhancing access and management of PDS by the CBOs Strategies to enhance Health Security Dedicated financial product for Health (HRF and its saving) Service at doorstep by Women Outreach Workers Access to the public health facilities (Community Clinics) Strategies to enhance Entitlements VOs facilitated to access Social Security Schemes Implementation of MGNREGA through community institutions

JEEViKA : Integration with Livelihoods Comprehensive agriculture intervention with small holders SRI, SWI & SCI, PVSP, Vermi Compost for productivity enhancement Formation of Women’s Farmer Producer Companies Promotion of Honey producers network Organizing SHG HHs into Dairy Cooperative Societies Fishery & Makhana: Mobilizing fisher-women in cooperatives Cluster based approach for selected art & crafts sectors Assessment of the skill gap and placement in jobs Community Based Extension Mechanism : Key to success Village Resource Person (VRP) is a local farmer identified by the VO Conduct micro-plans & handhold 50 – 80 members in the entire cycle Service charge designed to mobilize & motivate vulnerable sections

HH level Income from Rs. 15-20 K to 100 K 4/13/2017 HH level Income from Rs. 15-20 K to 100 K Financial Product, Awareness & access to health services/entitlements of Govt. through CBOs Collective Procurement, Public Distribution System, Productivity Enhancement Information sharing at CBO level, Demand Driven education-Skilled, NREGS & other programmes, Signature to Functional Literacy Financial Products, Demand Driven Land /Pond Leasing, Assetization, Selling marketable surplus through CPC / PC / DCS / Etc. OFF/NON FARM GOAT REARING / POULTRY / BEEKEEPING / FISHERY / SKILL BUILDING 20000/- DAIRY 24000/- MGNREGS 14000/- AGRICULTURE 50000/-

JEEViKA : Strategies : Project Management HR & OD : Multiple recruitment options: Open Market, Deputation, Internal selection, Campus, Intern model Partnership with academic / training institutions for CB Staff deployment with tapering strategy linked with graduation of CBOs M & E : Institution based MIS - Web-based monitoring system Qualitative measurement with Process Monitoring & Thematic Studies Concurrent management review, learning system and impact evaluation KM / Communication & Governance / Accountability Use of new mediums with traditional channels for both Internal and External Communication Integration of IT with CBOs for transparency & credibility

JEEViKA : Innovativeness & Replicability Learnings of JEEViKA incorporated in National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) Framework and Guidelines. BRLPS designated as SRLM for rolling out NRLM in Bihar. The model of JEEViKA approved for scaling up in the whole state under NRLM targeting 1.25 Crore poor HHs. State Perspective and Implementation Plan (SPIP) for NRLM approved by the State Cabinet and MoRD, GoI. System of book keeping for CBOs is being accepted by Banks & CSOs. Results of SRI pilots instrumental in GoB launching “SRI Kranthi” in 3.5 lakh ha across the state. BRLPS providing resource support to similar projects.

JEEViKA : Key Results by 2021-22 Social Inclusion and Institution Building 1.25 Crore women mobilised, 10 Lakh SHGs, 65 Thousand VOs, 1600 CLFs 3.75 Lakh of Community Para Professionals providing services to CBOs Financial Inclusion 3100 Crore in Savings & Rs. 12,000 Crore Credit from Banks Atleast 70% SC/ST/Vulnerable HHs access funds Vulnerability Reduction Atleast 80% HHs improved Food Security Atleast 50% HHs covered under Health Safety Net & Social Security Schemes Livelihoods Enhancement Atleast 70% HHs achieved 40% increase in Income Atleast 15 lakh jobs created with placement in formal & informal sectors

Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar interacting with SHG at Gangapur Village, Muzaffarpur

President World Bank Shri R. B President World Bank Shri R. B. Zolleick interacting with community at Patna

Minister RD, GoI Shri Jayram Ramesh interacting with VO at Shekhwara Village, Gaya

British Parliamentary Committee discussing with households at Bhusia Village, Gaya

Shri Norman UpHoff from Cornell University, US with SRI farmers in Ghantadih Village, Gaya

Country Director, WB, Shri R Country Director, WB, Shri R. Zagha interacting with VO at Bhusia Village, Gaya

THANK YOU JEEViKA : A Presentation by Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society – State Rural Livelihoods Mission, Bihar