New Delhi, November 02, 2021: Flipkart, India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Government of India, for their ambitious Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) program. This partnership aims to help empower local businesses and self-help groups (SHGs), especially those that are led by women, by bringing them into the e-commerce fold. The partnership is aligned with the DAY-NRLM's goal of strengthening the capabilities of rural communities for self-employment and entrepreneurship , thus supporting the vision of an "Atmanirbhar Bharat".

The MoU was signed on November 02, 2021, by the Joint Secretary (RL), DAY-NRLM, Shri Charanjit Singh, and Flipkart's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Shri. Rajneesh Kumar.

This MoU is a part of the Flipkart Samarth program and aims to provide skilled yet under-served communities of craftsmen, weavers and artisans with national market access through the Flipkart marketplace, as well as dedicated support for knowledge and training. Flipkart Samarth seeks to break entry barriers for local communities by providing:

Time-bound incubation and support.

Assistance with onboarding, cataloging, marketing, account management, business insights, and warehousing.

These efforts will create more avenues for increasing business and trade inclusion and help in creating and sustaining better livelihood opportunities.

DAY-NRLM Program Overview

The MoRD's DAY-NRLM program has a vast outreach, spanning 6,768 blocks of 706 districts across all 28 States and 6 UTs. It has mobilized 7.84 crore women into more than 71 lakh SHGs (Self-Help Groups), proving to be a game-changing initiative for empowering poor rural women. Under the mission, poor women form SHGs and their federations to provide financial, economic, and social development services to their members. NRLM has been actively promoting rural products manufactured by these SHGs through platforms like Saras Fairs, Saras Gallery and retail outlets, and commercial e-commerce platforms.

Shri Giri Raj Singh, Hon'ble Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, commented that SHGs are the backbone of the rural economy, and the goal is to enhance their annual income to at least $\text{₹}1$ lakh17. He believes a partnership between DAY-NRLM and Flipkart will help harness the huge potential of rural products through e-commerce18.

Shri Charanjit Singh, Joint Secretary (Skills), DAY-NRLM, emphasized that the partnership provides a great platform for capacity-building, enhancing, and impacting rural livelihoods, especially for women

Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, stated, "The Flipkart Samarth initiative provides them with access to potentially more than 350 million consumers on our platform spread across the country".

About Flipkart Samarth

The Flipkart Samarth program was launched in 2019. It currently supports the livelihoods of over 9,50,000 artisans, weavers and craftsmen across India. The program is a sustainable and inclusive platform to empower under-served domestic communities and businesses with better opportunities and livelihoods.

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Extending support towards Prime Minister's vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', Flipkart joins hands with Govt. of India's National Rural Livelihood Mission

MoU signed between the two parties as a part of the Flipkart Samarth program.

The partnership will enhance rural livelihoods by providing national market access and knowledge & training support.

New Delhi, November 02, 2021: Flipkart, India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Government of India, for their ambitious Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) program. This partnership aims to help empower local businesses and self-help groups (SHGs), especially those that are led by women, by bringing them into the e-commerce fold. The partnership is aligned with the DAY-NRLM's goal of strengthening the capabilities of rural communities for self-employment and entrepreneurship , thus supporting the vision of an "Atmanirbhar Bharat".

The MoU was signed on November 02, 2021, by the Joint Secretary (RL), DAY-NRLM, Shri Charanjit Singh, and Flipkart's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Shri. Rajneesh Kumar.

This MoU is a part of the Flipkart Samarth program and aims to provide skilled yet under-served communities of craftsmen, weavers and artisans with national market access through the Flipkart marketplace, as well as dedicated support for knowledge and training. Flipkart Samarth seeks to break entry barriers for local communities by providing:

Time-bound incubation and support.

Assistance with onboarding, cataloging, marketing, account management, business insights, and warehousing.

These efforts will create more avenues for increasing business and trade inclusion and help in creating and sustaining better livelihood opportunities.

DAY-NRLM Program Overview

The MoRD's DAY-NRLM program has a vast outreach, spanning 6,768 blocks of 706 districts across all 28 States and 6 UTs. It has mobilized 7.84 crore women into more than 71 lakh SHGs (Self-Help Groups), proving to be a game-changing initiative for empowering poor rural women. Under the mission, poor women form SHGs and their federations to provide financial, economic, and social development services to their members. NRLM has been actively promoting rural products manufactured by these SHGs through platforms like Saras Fairs, Saras Gallery and retail outlets, and commercial e-commerce platforms.

Shri Giri Raj Singh, Hon'ble Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, commented that SHGs are the backbone of the rural economy, and the goal is to enhance their annual income to at least ₹1 lakh. He believes a partnership between DAY-NRLM and Flipkart will help harness the huge potential of rural products through e-commerce.

Shri Charanjit Singh, Joint Secretary (Skills), DAY-NRLM, emphasized that the partnership provides a great platform for capacity-building, enhancing, and impacting rural livelihoods, especially for women.

Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, stated, "The Flipkart Samarth initiative provides them with access to potentially more than 350 million consumers on our platform spread across the country".

About Flipkart Samarth

The Flipkart Samarth program was launched in 2019. It currently supports the livelihoods of over 9,50,000 artisans, weavers and craftsmen across India. The program is a sustainable and inclusive platform to empower under-served domestic communities and businesses with better opportunities and livelihoods.

About the Flipkart Group

The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, and Cleartrip. The Group is also a majority shareholder in PhonePe. Started in 2007 , Flipkart has a registered customer base of more than 350 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns.

For more information, please contact media@flipkart.com.