Adapting the Ultra-Poor Graduation Approach to Strengthen Climate Resilience, Gender Inclusion, and Economic Opportunities for Marginalized Communities in Telangana

India’s Ministry of Rural Development and J-PAL South Asia are partnering to embed evidence into Samaveshi Aajeevika (SAY), a national livelihoods program. In Telangana, the Telangana Inclusive Livelihoods Program (TGILP) targets 6,000 households from marginalized groups, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups and Joginis, with a Graduation-style intervention combining financial support, training, coaching, and peer networks. TGILP introduces two innovations: climate resilience through insurance and sustainable livelihoods, and gender intentionality via women-focused economic and empowerment activities. J-PAL South Asia is collaborating with SERP to implement an RCT to evaluate TGILP’s impact, with strong interest from state leadership. The evaluation aims to generate actionable insights on the effectiveness of TGILP’s components, informing the scale-up across Telangana and contributing to evidence-based poverty alleviation strategies in India.