Kudumbashree Mission

Kudumbashree Mission, which is often abbreviated as Kudumbashree, is the name by which the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) of Kerala State Government is widely known.^[1] 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 then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Bajpeyee inaugurated the mission at Malappuram on 17 May 1998 and the Mission started functioning on 1 April 1999 under the Local Self-Government Department of Govt of Kerala.^[1]

The name Kudumbashree is also used to refer to a community network in Kerala having a three-tier structure. The Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) are the primary level units of this network, the next level being Area Development Societies (ADS) functioning at the ward level, and the top level being the Community Development Societies (CDS).

The name Kudumbashree means "prosperity of the family" in Malayalam language.^[2]

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.^[3]

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 economic status of families is decided based on the standard set by the Government from time to time. The Area Development Societies (ADSs) form the middle tier of the network.

As on 1 September 2020, the Kudumbashree community network has a total of 4,511,834 members spread over 287,723 NHGs which are organised into 19,489 ADSs and 1064 CDSs.^[4]

External links[]

• Kudumbashree
• The Kudumbashree Story
• Kudumbashree - The world’s largest Women’s network

References[]

Additional reading[]

• M A OOmmen (April 2008). Micro-finance and Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Kerala's Kudumbashree (PDF). Kochi: Centre for Socio-econo mic & E nvironmental Studies(CSES). Retrieved 2 November 2020.
• Glyn Williams, Binitha V. Thampi, D. Narayana, Sailaja Nandigama and Dwaipayan Bhattacharyya (1 August 2011). "Performing Participatory Citizenship – Politics and Power in Kerala's Kudumbashree Programme". The Journal of Development Studies. 47 (8): 1261–1280. doi:10.1080/00220388.2010.527949. S2CID 154562213. Retrieved 2 November 2020.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)