VARANASI, July 28 -- Varanasi has secured the first position in the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) rankings released by the ministry of rural development for June 2026, retaining the top spot after also leading the rankings in May, officials said. Deputy commissioner, NRLM, Pawan Kumar Singh, said the mission is continuously working to make rural women self-reliant through socio-economic upliftment with the support of the district administration. The ministry of rural development ranks missions monthly on Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Village Organisations (VOs) and Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) profiling on LoCoS, group formation, credit linkage, start-up funds, audits, Vulnerability Reduction Fund (VRF) and deployment of BC Sakhis, Vidyut Sakhis, ICRP-Fs and NHWs. Project manager Sravan Kumar Singh said SHGs improved women's living standards, financial independence, employment and skills. Varanasi Livelihood Mission remained strong at state level....