(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Lakhpati Didi

(DECEMBER-2023)

Lakhpati Didi

Introduction:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the significant initiative lakhpati Didi’ scheme aimed at empowering women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across India.

Key highlights:

The objective of the lakhpati Didi’ Scheme is to enable at least 2 crore Lakhpati Didis soon, from the 10 crore large family of SHG Didis of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), SHGs, or self-help groups, are community based organisations formed by a group of individuals, primarily women, who come together to address their common economic, social, or developmental needs.
Women SHGs play a significant role in empowering women, promoting socio-economic development, and contributing to grassroots governance, and a ‘Lakhpati Didi’ is the one who earns a sustainable income of at least Rs. 1 lakh per annum per household.
The Ministry of Rural Development is Inspired and geared to realise the Prime Minister’s dream in reality with hard work and a multi-pronged approach in a time-bound manner. The Ministry has successfully enabled more than 1.5 crore Lakhpati Didis so far and is determined to complete the Z crore target by this year instead of March 2024.
In order to do this, the Ministry of Rural Development is taking multiple steps and involving various government departments and agencies, to maximise the impact of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ Initiative. This approach includes convergence efforts to transform the rural economy and enable the success of the initiative.
The Ministry of Rural Development recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Ayush to collaborate in developing skilled personnel by imparting training to rural poor youth and women’s for the Ayush healthcare system under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
The mission, in Its endeavour to empower the SHG women, has made concerted efforts in the collectivisation of women, strengthening their federations, and capacitating them with knowledge and skills for livelihood intervention, financing, and credit support, etc. for the livelihood augmentation of the SHG women.

The mission seeks to achieve its objective through investing in four core components:

social mobilisation and promotion and strengthening of self-managed and financially sustainable community institutions of the rural poor;
financial inclusion of the rural poor;
sustainable livelihoods; and
social inclusion, social development, and convergence.

Structure of the mission:

1. Geographical Coverage: The mission has covered 7091 blocks spread over 742 districts across all States and UTs (except Delhi and Chandigarh) under the intensive strategy.
2. Social Mobilisation/Jnstitution Building: 9.54 crore women have been mobilised into 87.39 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs).
3. Social Capital: Community driven approach is the central to the mission’s implementation strategy. Nearly 4 lakh Community Resource Persons have been trained in multipEe interventions.
4. Capitalisation Support: Cumulatively, about Rs. 33,497.62 crore has been provided as community
investment support under the mission.
5. SHG-Bank Linkage: Nearly Rs. 6.96 lakh crore of bank credit has been accessed by the SHGs since 2013-14, The NPA at 1.38% is a result of the efforts undertaken at various levels of the mission.
6. SHG members as Business Correspondent Agents (BCAs): In order to provide last mile delivery of financial services, more than 1,00,000 SHG members have been identified and trained as Business Correspondent Agents/ Digipay points. At present, 1.07 lakh Banking Correspondents Sakhi/Digipay Sakhi have been deployed.
7. Livelihoods: DAY-NRLM promotes sustainable agriculture, livestock, and NFTPs in intensive blocks under the Farm Interventions.

8. Custom Hiring Centres / Tool Banks: About 28623 Custom Hiring Centre/ Community Managed Tool Bank have been set up across multiple States. These CHCs enable small and marginal fanners provided access to farm equipment and other services at a nominal rate.

Way forward:

The ‘Lakhpati Didi’ Initiative aims to provide self-employment and skilled-wage employment opportunities to women from poor households. The scheme is designed to empower women by equipping them with essential skills that pave the way for the establishment of microenterprises. It focuses on social mobilisation, financial inclusion, sustainable livelihoods, and social development to empower rural women and enhance their access to entitlements.

Through these efforts, the government aims to create sustainable and diversified livelihood options for rural women, thereby contributing to poverty reduction and economic empowerment at the grassroots level.

Conclusion:

It is well said that when women prosper, the world prospers. Their economic empowerment fuels growth, and their access to education drives global progress, Their leadership fosters inclusivity, and their voices inspire positive change. The most effective way to empower women is through a women-led development approach, and India is making huge strides in this direction.