New Delhi: From establishing yoga and fitness centres and setting up electronic gadget maintenance units to running internet cafes, the Centre is planning a scheme to help rural women part of Self Help Groups (SHGs) foray into the service sector as part of its ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative. Through this scheme, the government plans to empower three crore rural SHG members to have an annual income of more than a lakh, ThePrint has learnt.
The Ministry of Rural Development, as part of its 100-day plan, is likely to launch a sub-scheme under its Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) to assist SHG members set up service sector enterprises in healthcare, education, tourism, and information technology, among others, said senior officials from the ministry.
They added that this integration of rural SHGs into the service sector will be crucial in meeting the target of empowering three crore women who have annual household income of over Rs 1 lakh become ‘lakhpati didis’.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative and set a target of empowering two crore SHG members to become millionaires. The target was revised to three crore in the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in February this year.
After taking charge as rural development minister last month, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that one crore women have become ‘lakhpati didis’ and the ministry will now accelerate the implementation of the initiative to meet the target. “We have one crore lakhpati didis and now our aim is to train two crore more women to achieve the target. This project is very close to my heart; this mission will be part of our road map,” Chouhan said last month.
Under DAY-NRLM, launched in 2011, 10.1 crore women are part of 91.57 lakh SHGs.
A majority of these SHGs are involved in agriculture and related activities.
“Around 70 percent of the SHGs under NRLM are engaged in labour-intensive agriculture and related activities. Most of the members have to engage in two to three activities to ensure a regular income, but are still not able to earn around Rs 1 lakh annually,” a senior ministry official told ThePrint.
“Training rural women to set up service sector enterprises will significantly enhance their income and strengthen our Lakhpati Didi initiative. We are planning to come up with a sub-scheme under NRLM. We are in the process of identifying possible service sectors in which SHG members can be provided training, type of support the states and Centre will have to provide etc. The plan is to roll out this sub-scheme in the next few months,” a second ministry official told ThePrint.
Last week, the ministry organised a stakeholder consultation which was attended by officials from other ministries and 10 state rural livelihood missions, and sector experts to deliberate and prepare a roadmap for the way forward for successful integration of SHG women into the service sector.
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Stable income for rural SHGs
Several states including Odisha and Kerala have rural SHGs working in service sector and are engaged by government agencies in various activities such as recording electricity metre reading, billing and collection of user charges, among others. But in a majority of states, ministry officials said, women SHGs are involved in agriculture and related activities, manufacturing food products, and handicraft, among others.
For instance, in Jharkhand, in which around 30 lakh women are part of 2.75 lakh rural SHGs, a majority of members (80 percent) are engaged in agricultural activities, Praveen Singh, state program manager for livelihood, told ThePrint.
The first senior ministry official quoted earlier said that while these activities are crucial for sustaining rural economies, they often offer limited income opportunities, especially for women. “These jobs often lead to seasonal and inconsistent income. We want women to focus on demand-based activities which can provide a more stable income. By setting up service sector enterprises, SHG members can significantly enhance their income.”
There are several service-based businesses such as beauty parlours, teaching, healthcare facilities such as yoga and fitness centres, food delivery services, internet cafes, and laundry facilities, among others. They can work as business correspondents to provide doorstep delivery of financial services, or start an electronic or electrical maintenance unit.
“To help them, the ministry plans to provide women SHG members, who are interested in entering the service sector, training in entrepreneurship, business management, financial literacy and also technical skills relevant to the chosen service sector. The plan is to help them connect with corporate clients, government agencies and digital service platforms for service delivery,” said the second ministry official quoted earlier.
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States working to meet ‘Lakhpati Didi’ targets
State government officials in Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh said identification of potential ‘lakhpati didis’ is underway based on the central government’s new guidelines, which were issued in February this year.
“As per the survey done in May 2023, there were close to 15 lakh SHG members whose annual income was more than Rs 1 lakh. We are now in the process of assessing the annual income of SHG members as per the Centre’s new guidelines for the Lakhpati Didi initiative. The annual income (which includes SHG member’s family income) is assessed after deducting expenses on the livelihood activities they are involved in. After doing the pilot in five areas, we are in the process of tracking the income level of SHG members in the entire state,” Anita Vatsalya, state program manager, social inclusion and social development, Madhya Pradesh government, told ThePrint.
“In Madhya Pradesh, a majority of members of SHGs are involved in agriculture and associated activities. There are around 25 lakh SHG members who are involved in farming-related activities while around seven to eight lakh are in non-farming activities,” he added.
In Haryana, for instance, 85,000 SHG members already have annual income of over Rs 1 lakh.
“We have a target of 1.79 lakh lakhpati didis. We are in the process of identifying potential members whose annual household income is between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1 lakh. Through convergence with other schemes and providing them training, we are working on helping them enhance their income,” an official with the state rural livelihood mission told ThePrint.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)