Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Project was initiated in 15 districts of Tamil Nadu targeting the poor, ultra poor and vulnerable households. The purpose of the study was to establish the net contribution of the project to the sustainable livelihoods of the targeted families “before” and “after” the project and “between” the project and control areas. 

The Project activities focused on reduction of poverty by improving livelihood options. Since livelihood outcomes depend on a number of factors, an effective evaluation was needed to integrate analysis of specific project interventions undertaken in the surveyed areas so as to be able to not only estimate the ‘net effect’ after taking into account the non-project interventions but, also assess impact and effectiveness of specific interventions. Hence, the baseline survey created adequate scope so as to determine the net project impact and the factors responsible for such impact. The baseline survey was carried out in the 14 districts and covered 210 villages and 2100 households and 411 Self Help Groups.