Poverty alleviation has been a concern for India since independence. The government has been persistently implementing and upgrading various policies in this regard. The self employment schemes and policies have been premier tools to combat the poverty in India. The Indian economy being predominated by rural area and regional inequality is the critical facet of Indian Economy, therefore the second most important concern of the government is rural development. Thus self employment and rural development go hand in hand.  The policies implemented by government have been revolving around community development approach, integrated development and lately to inclusive growth. The paper explores the self-employment programmes introduced in India and revolves around Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).  The paper presents the approaches of these programs with their pros and cons. The paper concludes with the Road ahead in contemporary Indian scenario

KEYWORDS – IRDP, SGSY, NRLM, Self employment, Microfinance