The specific project objectives are to :

a. Create sustainable community institutions around women Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Youth Groups of men and women (YG) and Community Development Groups (CDG).

b. Build capacity of community institutions for self governance, bottom up planning, democratic functioning with transparency and accountability.

c. Increase economic and livelihood opportunities by

• Managing natural resources and improving agriculture for food security and income enhancement from farming and allied activities

• Skill development of youth for employability and establishment of self and/or group managed enterprises

• Establishing backward and forward linkages for economic enterprises

• Creating access to finance through linkages with banks and other financial institutions

• Creating critical infrastructures

d. Develop partnership of community institutions for natural resource management, microfinance, market linkages, and sectoral economic services.

The project is for a period of five years. It covers two districts each in Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The districts are:

• Mizoram - Aizawl and Lunglei

• Nagaland - Peren and Tuensang

• Sikkim - South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District

• Tripura - West and North Districts

The project will cover nearly 300,000 households in 1624 villages of 58 blocks falling in 8 districts of the 4 states.