Sonia unveils special package for northeast, hill states

India should take seven crore families out of poverty in the next 10 years, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said on Monday, while announcing that the government was preparing a special package for the northeast and hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.A "In the next 10 years we have to bring seven crore families out of poverty. This is not an easy job," Gandhi said at a function to mark the Ajeevika Diwas here. She said Ajeevika, or the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, had proved that social and economic changes could be brought about through women's self help groups in villages.A "This shows that the Ajeevika mission needs to be implemented across the country with special focus on central and northern parts," she said. "I am especially happy that through the mission we have been able to help women in Jammu and Kashmir." She said a special package was being prepared for the northeast and hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The National Rural Livelihoods Mission was launched by the ministry of rural development in June 2011. Aided in part by the World Bank, it aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.