Kudumbashree (; means 'Prosperity of the family'
) is a poverty eradication and women empowerment programme implemented by the
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
. Kudumbashree has a three-tier structure for its women community network, with Neighborhood Groups (NHGs) at the lowest level, Area Development Societies (ADS) at the middle level, and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local government level.
In 2012, Kudumbashree was recognized as a National Resource Organisation (NRO) by
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD),
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
, under the
National Rural Livelihood Mission
The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) is a poverty alleviation project implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, a branch of the Government of India. This plan is focused on promoting self-employment and the organization of rur ...
(NRLM) to provide support to other States in their poverty eradication efforts.
The Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Kudumbashree was inaugurated by
Droupadi Murmu
Droupadi Murmu (born Durgi Biranchi Tudu; 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 Indian presidential election, 2022 presidential election as the Bharatiya Janata Party ...
, the
President of India
The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
at
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
on 17
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
2023.
As part of Kudumbashree’s 25th anniversary, the
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
has issued orders that May 17 be celebrated as 'Kudumbashree Day' every year. Radioshree, Kudumbashree's online radio was also launched as part of Kudumbashree's 25th anniversary.
Kudumbashree's theme song (Mudra Geetham) was launched by
Pinarayi Vijayan
Pinarayi Vijayan (; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian politician who has served as the List of chief ministers of Kerala, Chief Minister of Kerala since 25 May 2016. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), politburo ...
, Chief Minister,
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
during the 25th Anniversary Celebrations of Kudumbashree.
Sreevalsan J Menon
Sreevalsan J. Menon is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and a music composer from Kerala.
Biography
After initial training under Rajalakshmi Krishnan (disciple of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar) and violinist T.V. Ramani at Thrissur, Menon had mu ...
is the Music Director & is sung by
K.S Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...
. The lyrics were written by Sreekala Devayanam.
History
Kudumbashree was set up in 1997 following the recommendations of a three-member task force appointed by the State Government. Its formation was in the context of the devolution of powers to the
Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Kerala, and the
People's Planning in Kerala, the campaign which attempted to draw up the Ninth Plan of the local governments from below through the PRIs.
Kudumbashree was launched following the 1996 People's Plan Campaign of the
E. K. Nayanar Government. From the beginning, it has been functioning under the local self-government department by accepting financial support from the union government and
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an All India Development Financial Institution (DFI) and an apex Supervisory Body for overall supervision of Regional Rural Banks, State Cooperative Banks and District Central ...
(NABARD).
As of 31
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
2025, Kudumbashree has 1,070 CDS (Community Developments Society, 19,470 ADS (Area Development Society) and 3,17,724 NHGs (Neighborhood Groups) Kerala's 48 lakh women community network, which is spread across Kerala.
The Kudumbashree Mission was registered as a Charitable Society under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act of 1955 in November 1998. The mission was officially inaugurated by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...
, the then Prime Minister,
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
on 17
May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...
1998 at
Malappuram
Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...
as requested by the
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
and the Mission started functioning on 1 April 1999 under the Local Self-Government Department of the
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
.
Kudumbashree Mission
The State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM), popularly known as the Kudumbashree Mission is the State Government's instrument for poverty eradication under the Local Self-Government Department.
The Mission has a Governing Body chaired by the Minister for Local Self-Government and an Executive Committee chaired by the Principal Secretary, Local Self-Government Department. The Mission is the agency that promotes and supports the Kudumbashree Community network.
The Mission structure consists of a State Mission and 14 District Missions. The State Mission in divided into three divisions – Livelihood Development, Organisation and Social Development, and Systems Support.
Kudumbashree Community Network
The Kudumbashree community network has a three-tier structure. The neighborhood groups (NHGs) are the units at the primary level. The Area Development Societies (ADSs) form the middle tier of the network and Community Development Societies (CDSs) at the local government level.
As of 31
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
2025, Kudumbashree has 3,17,724 NHGs affiliated to 19,470 ADSs and 1,070 CDSs with a total membership of 48,08,837 women. Kudumbashree membership is open to all adult women, limited to one membership per family.
Kudumbashree Auxiliary Groups
Out of the total NHG members, women between 18 and 40 years of age constitute 10% only. The limitations including giving membership only to one member per family, have been a reason for this. Because of this, a greater percentage of young women failed to get directly benefited out of the various programmes being implemented through Kudumbashree. As a solution, Kudumbashree formulated Auxiliary Groups and now the young women are offered an opportunity to become part of these Auxiliary Groups. The project aims at ensuring the social, cultural and livelihood upliftment of young women.
Kudumbashree Special NHGs
To ensure the social inclusion of the side-lined transgender community, Kudumbashree had also started special NHGs for
Transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
and they are given an opportunity to find a steady livelihood of their own and lead a dignified life in the society.
Kudumbashree also associates with the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Kerala.
Kudumbashree National Resource Organisation
After its formation in 2012, the Kudumbashree NRO signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with 9 States (
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
and
Sikkim
Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
) to provide technical and implementation support to their State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) for the adaptation of Kudumbashree's best practices. Kudumbashree NRO provides assistance to States in undertaking pilot interventions under the Enterprises project and Panchayati Raj Institutions – Community Based Organisations (PRI-CBO) Convergence Project.
The Enterprises project identifies individuals from local communities and trains them for 6–9 months to form a cadre of community professionals called Micro-Enterprise Consultants (MEC). MEC are expected to provide hand holding support and capacity building services primarily to women entrepreneurs from rural areas in exchange for a fee. The Enterprises project is in the pilot phase in select districts of 7 States -
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
and
Sikkim
Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
.
The PRI-CBO Convergence project identifies individuals from local communities and trains them to form a cadre of community professionals called Local Resource Groups (LRG). LRG are expected to work with community institutions and local governments to improve the efficiency and reach of poor centric programmes, promote participatory planning and inculcate democratic consciousness in local communities. The PRI-CBO Convergence project is in the pilot phase in select blocks of 7 States –
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
and
Sikkim
Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
.
In 2015, Kudumbashree NRO entered into collaborations with
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
to provide support for the adaptation of Kudumbashree's best practices in these countries.
Kudumbashree Awards
Kudumbashree constituted 'Kudumbashree Awards' as part of intensifying Kudumbashree project activities and honoring excellent and notable achievements. Awards are given in a total of 17 categories viz., Best NHG, Best ADS, Best Ooru Samithi, Best Enterprise Group, Best Entrepreneur, Best BUDS Institution, Best Gender Resource Centre, Best Auxiliary Group, Best Auxiliary Enterprise, Best Snehitha Gender Help Desk, District that has carried out the Best Public Relations Activities, Best District Mission, as well as Best CDS (Convergence Activities, Unique Activities, Administration-Microfinance Activities), Best CDS (Agriculture Sector, Animal Husbandry), Best CDS (Social Development, Gender), Best CDS (Tribal Activities), Best CDS (Micro Enterprise, DDU-GKY, K-DISC).
Disaster Relief
2018 Kerala floods
During the
2018 Kerala floods
On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state Kerala, due to unusually heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and about one million people were e ...
, Kudumbashree contributed Rs 11.18 crores to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).
Covid-19 pandemic
The organisation implemented the Chief Minister’s ‘Sahayahastham’ (Helping Hands) Loan Scheme, made regular Communication with the community, focused especially on elderly care, extended special care for the vulnerable communities, extended counselling services, made use of the enterprise opportunities (production of masks, sanitizers and face shields, cloth bags for the Civil Supplies Department for distributing the food kits to the public, run Community Kitchens, launched Janakeeya Hotels across the state to serve meals at Rs 20, set up Take Away counters at state boundaries and food supply to Corona Care Centres etc) and filling in the social needs and also involved in volunteering and other activities as well.
2024 Wayanad landslides
During
2024 Wayanad landslides
The 2024 Wayanad Landslide, landslides were a series of landslides that occurred in Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Wayanad, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Vellarimala villages in Meppadi panchayat, Vythiri taluk in Wayanad district, Kerala, India in ...
, Kudumbashree contributed Rs 20,60,25,388 to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). Kudumbashree also prepared the Micro Plans for those affected by the landslides associating with the District Administration of
Wayanad
Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...
.
Arangu Arts Festival
Arangu Arts Festivals are organized to develop the creative skills of Kudumbashree NHG, Auxiliary Group members. The festival aims to showcase the artistic talents of Kudumbashree NHG-Auxiliary members and empower them through creative expression. The Arangu Arts Festival is organized at three levels-Taluk level, District level and State level.
This new format of Kudumbashree Arts Festival was launched in 2017. The State level Competitions of 2017 and 2018 were held at
Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
and
Malappuram
Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...
respectively. The State Level Competitions of 2019, 2023 and 2024 were held at
Palakkad
Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...
,
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
and
Kasaragod
Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kera ...
respectively. From 2023 onwards, a Special Category was started for Auxiliary Group Members.
References
External links
KudumbashreeThe Kudumbashree StoryKudumbashree - The world’s largest Women’s networkKudumbashree National Resource OrganisationNational Rural Livelihoods Mission
Additional reading
*
*{{cite journal, last1=Glyn Williams, Binitha V. Thampi, D. Narayana, Sailaja Nandigama and
Dwaipayan Bhattacharyya, title=Performing Participatory Citizenship – Politics and Power in Kerala's Kudumbashree Programme, journal=The Journal of Development Studies, date=1 August 2011, volume=47, issue=8, pages=1261–1280, doi=10.1080/00220388.2010.527949, s2cid=154562213, access-date=2 November 2020, url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2010.527949
Rural development organisations in India
Poverty in India
Government welfare schemes in Kerala
Women in India