LEAD at Krea University, through its gender initiative IWWAGE, has partnered with the State Rural Livelihoods Mission in Chhattisgarh to train female SHG members on a mobile application that provides them with an opportunity for paid work by facilitating welfare enrolments in their communities. This mobile application is developed by the implementation partner, Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Private Limited.

This report is based on an ongoing evaluation of the model within the state of Chhattisgarh and presents findings from a baseline survey that was administered as part of the process. The sample includes rural SHG women who successfully completed the training workshop, between September 2020 and March 2021, across 14 districts of Chhattisgarh.

These findings will be significant for comparison with endline data to evaluate whether the benefits of the Haqdarshak livelihoods program accrued to already better-off Haqdarshikas or if it truly improved the lives of the deserving beneficiaries. Furthermore, understanding the normative environment, within which Haqdarshikas are expected to make decisions regarding paid work, will help assess the design of Haqdarshak type community based livelihood models for rural women.