Women Entrepreneurship : Impact of Urban Livelihood Development Programs on Women Entrepreneurship

Rapid rise of urban poverty in India in the recent past has made it imperative to make concerted efforts to poverty reduction in urban areas. The multidimensional nature of urban poverty calls for a paradigm shift in the approach to its reduction e.g., from needs-based approach to rights-based approach, which calls for a different strategy. Urban Poverty Reduction Strategy (UPRS) is an attempt to formulate such strategies for urban poverty alleviation that can be appropriately targeted, that involve community participation, and that are innovative in their design and approach. UPRS came to the fore in three pronged manner through - basic services under JNNURM, institutional reforms under 74th Constitutional Amendment Act and livelihood generation under SJSRY. The MEP and MFP are the programs, though the ULDPs, what can bring them the sigh of relief from the clutches of acute poverty and underdevelopment. The use of their traditional knowledge and upgraded modern skill, not making these excluded strata of the society alien to their culture and tradition, the MEs can make them socio-economic independent and sustainable.