Govt Reviews Proposals To Boost Women-Led Rural Enterprises, Aims To Create 6 Crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’

The government convened a committee to evaluate proposals aimed at bolstering women-led rural enterprises and realizing the objective of creating 6 crore "Lakhpati Didis," according to an official statement issued on Saturday. The Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Rural Development, presided over by Secretary Rohit Kansal, deliberated on four novel incubator schemes under the Non-Farm Livelihoods (NFL) initiative of DAY-NRLM, with academic institutions from Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat selected as incubator partners.

The committee assessed the potential of these programs to enhance women-led rural businesses by providing structured assistance in areas such as business strategy, mentoring, financial planning, formalization, technology integration, market access, and financial support. The Incubator Sub-Scheme capitalizes on the success of previous incubator programs in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, and Karnataka, which had supported over 600 Self-Help Group (SHG) enterprises.

The ongoing initiatives have seen significant expansion, with 14 incubator programs now operational in 13 states, aiding around 2,100 rural SHG enterprises through collaborations with prestigious business and academic institutions. The statement highlighted that these new incubators would focus on high-growth sectors like food and agri-processing, textiles and handicrafts, manufacturing, retail and services, tourism-linked activities, digital enterprises, and other locally relevant industries.

The government's commitment to empowering rural women through economic development and the Lakhpati Didi initiative was underscored through these initiatives, which aim to transform subsistence-level businesses into thriving enterprises with increased revenue, expanded market reach, improved financial access, and enhanced employment opportunities.