Context:

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) recently announced the launch of the "Million Designers, Billion Dreams initiative.

More on the news

• It is an innovative program aimed at empowering individuals by teaching them systems design skills. 
• It focuses on rural leaders, frontline change makers, and village entrepreneurs, providing them with the expertise needed to develop impactful and scalable solutions.
• This initiative is led by LEAP and in collaboration with the DAY-NRLM.

• To enhance participants' proficiency in design frameworks to drive systems change.
• To promote collaboration among diverse stakeholders to address complex challenges.   
• To foster confidence and agency to shape better futures through creativity and ownership.

LEAP (Leadership for Academics Program):

• • LEAP is a catalyst organization that emerged from the multidisciplinary work developed in India by the Design Laboratory at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (D-Lab) and the Transform Rural India Foundation (TRIF), with seed investment provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) 

• It is a flagship poverty alleviation program implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
• National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) was launched in 2010 as a mission-mode scheme by restructuring the erstwhile Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY). 
• In 2016, the program was renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM). 
• The central and state governments jointly fund this centrally sponsored scheme.
• It promotes building strong institutions such as Self-Help Groups (SHGs) for the poor, particularly women, and enabling these institutions to access a range of financial services and livelihoods.
• The Mission consists of four components, viz., (i) social mobilization, community institution, and capacity building; (ii) financial inclusion; (iii) livelihood promotion; and (iv) convergence.