Kochi | The two-day national workshop on "Innovative Approaches Towards Urban Poverty Alleviation" began here on Friday.
State Minister for Local Self Government Department and Excise, M B Rajesh inaugurated the event and said the DAY-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) in Kerala has been able to reach out to the significant section of urban poor.
The workshop would further give a proper direction and new inspiration for the NULM while we are going ahead, he said.
Kerala has maintained consistency in the performance of implementing NULM, he said and added that the southern state has been maintaining very good performance in SPARK ranking for the last 6 years.
Rahul Kapoor, Joint Secretary & Mission Director, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission & PM SVANidhi made a presentation on 'DAY-NULM with a focus on NULM and way forward'.
He said NULM and PM SVANidhi are two of the schemes that focus on the social aspect of urban areas under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, that look at the softer elements or aspects of improving the lives of the people, especially the vulnerable and directly connecting with them.
NULM has its own shades of success and challenges and there is still scope of improvement, he noted.
A collaborative approach of government, industry, civil society and knowledge partners is needed to address these challenges, the official added.
Sarada Muraleedharan, state Additional Chief Secretary, made a presentation on 'Poverty Eradication & Women while Anu Kumari, Executive Director (In-Charge), Kudumbashree and Sajith Sukumaran, COO, Kudumbashree NRO, jointly made a presentation on 'Envisioning Kudumbashree as an Urban NRO'.
The states which have received SPARK Award for the Best Implementation of NULM were felicitated at the function.
The National Workshop is jointly organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India and Kudumbashree.
The objective of the National Workshop is to provide a robust platform for cross learning, i.e., to help to know and understand the best practices of the States and Union Territories implementing NULM, including Kerala, a statement added.
