The Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM), Department of Rural Development, Government of Nagaland, in collaboration with BRAC International, organised a programme on the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY-SOBLOK) at the Banquet Hall, Hotel Vivor, Kohima, on 6th October 2026. The programme witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NSRLM and BRAC International to support 4,000 extremely vulnerable households in the state under SAY-SOBLOK, aligned with the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) under DAY-NRLM.
Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Government of Nagaland, Thavaseelan K. IAS, emphasised the need to ensure that rural development programmes effectively reach the most vulnerable households and address the challenges that hinder their participation. He said the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) provides an opportunity to extend focused livelihood support to extremely vulnerable rural households, while ensuring access to government services and entitlements. He stressed the importance of fair beneficiary selection, understanding household needs, practical livelihood choices and special attention to women’s participation and decision-making.
Thavaseelan also highlighted the need for stronger interdepartmental coordination, regular follow-up and community-level support to ensure that assistance reaches households on the ground. He expressed confidence that the three-year collaboration between NSRLM and BRAC International would strengthen the programme and contribute to sustainable improvements in the lives of vulnerable rural households.
Jt. Secretary & Mission Director, NSRLM, Moa Sangtam, in his keynote address highlighted the social inclusion status of NSRLM, outlining key data and initiatives undertaken towards inclusive development. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he emphasised that “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members,” urging participants to reflect on the purpose and essence of the MoU. He highlighted the Mission’s interventions, including the mobilisation of SHGs, promotion of 15,481 SHGs and 1,269 Village Level Organisations, support through community resource persons, access to bank credit and other financial services, vulnerability mapping and reduction planning across villages, and facilitation of access to basic rights and development schemes. He also highlighted NSRLM’s initiatives for vulnerable groups, including over 400 exclusive vulnerable-group SHGs and the proposed rollout of an innovative project for their skills and needs.
COO (Programs), NSRLM, M. Rollan Lotha, welcomed BRAC and all partners, recalling NSRLM’s journey since 2013 and its commitment to reaching every household through community mobilisation and social inclusion. He highlighted the Mission’s vulnerability-based approach aimed at ensuring that no one is left behind and expressed optimism about taking the next step in the journey.
India Country Lead, BRAC International, Shweta S. Banerjee, in her introductory address, highlighted BRAC’s commitment to supporting the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) in Nagaland. She said the programme aims to reach extremely vulnerable households by addressing their immediate needs and enabling sustainable livelihoods. Sharing her observations from a field visit to NSRLM initiatives in Nagaland, she appreciated the quality of interventions and the empathy demonstrated by community institutions towards vulnerable households. She said BRAC would support the programme through capacity building, cross-learning, sharing of best practices and research partnerships, while expressing hope that innovations emerging from Nagaland would serve as models for other states and countries.
National Anchor for SAY, DAY-NRLM, Mona Dave, provided an overview of Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY), highlighting its focus on reaching extremely vulnerable households who remain excluded from mainstream SHG-based interventions, followed by a session on BRAC’s engagement in Nagaland under the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) conducted by Senior Program Advisor, BRAC International, Ajit Ranjan. He outlined the importance of strengthening community institutions, capacity building, field-level implementation, learning and quality improvement, and partnerships for technical, process and impact evaluation to ensure effective and sustainable implementation of SAY in Nagaland.
The MoU was signed between NSRLM and BRAC International, followed by the launch of SAY-SOBLOK, focusing on the comprehensive development of extremely vulnerable households through the graduation approach.
The programme also featured a session on BRAC’s global and India experience by Program Advisor–Livelihoods, Ramesh Veluru; Program Coordinator–Coaching and CB, Himanshu Pahwa; and Program Specialist–Strategy, Abhishek Singh.
Ramesh Veluru, highlighted the importance of coaching in helping households identify their own pathways towards self-sufficiency, noting that coaches can create a multiplier and spillover effect from households to the wider community. Himanshu Pahwa, spoke on BRAC’s livelihood promotion approach, which seeks to build viable and sustainable households through access to assets, productive materials, knowledge and skills, including livelihood options, technical training, coaching and business skills. Abhishek Singh, spoke on BRAC’s learning ecosystem, facilitated through Learning Exchange Programmes, the “The Learning” webinar series and Joint Programme Reviews, with the aim of strengthening learning across programmes.
The programme concluded with the presentation of action points and next steps by Lead Coaching, SAY National PMU, Kshovan Guha.
(Wonchibeni Patton, APRO; Mainodi Naben, IA)
