From Lakhpati Didis to Crorepati Didis: SHGs and Rural Women's Livelihoods at the National Saras Mela
The President of India addressed the National Saras Mela in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, on 15 October 2026. The fair was organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, alongside a Lakhpati Didi Mela during Dasara.
The President called for turning Lakhpati Didis (rural women earning at least ₹1 lakh a year for their household) into "Crorepati Didis", that is, women entrepreneurs running much larger businesses.
She said more than 10 crore women have joined Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the past 12 years, and women from more than 9 lakh SHGs are adding to their families' income.
She said more than 5 crore rural women farmers have been brought into the rural livelihoods mission, and lakhs of non-farm enterprises (small businesses outside farming) have received support.
Saras Melas let SHG women sell their products directly to city buyers and learn branding, packaging, networking and marketing.
The President linked women's economic participation to India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
Lakhpati Didi Initiative
The Lakhpati Didi initiative is a central government effort to help women in rural Self-Help Groups earn at least ₹1 lakh a year for their household, and keep earning it year after year. "Lakhpati" means someone who earns a lakh of rupees, and "Didi" means elder sister. It is not a separate scheme with its own budget. It works through the existing rural livelihoods mission (DAY-NRLM), by joining up support for skills, loans and markets for each woman.
The President's call to turn Lakhpati Didis into "Crorepati Didis" signals the next step: moving SHG women from earning a steady household income to running larger, market-facing businesses. Fairs like the Saras Mela are one tool for this, because they connect rural sellers to big urban buyers.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)
DAY-NRLM is the central government's main programme to help poor rural families earn a steady income. It brings poor rural women together into Self-Help Groups (SHGs), links these groups to bank loans, and then helps them start and grow livelihoods. It is run by the Ministry of Rural Development. Its idea is that poor women, once organised into strong groups and federations, can pull their families out of poverty themselves.
The National Saras Mela in Vijayawada is a DAY-NRLM marketing event. The figures the President quoted, such as more than 10 crore women in SHGs and over 5 crore women farmers, describe the reach this mission has built since 2011.
SHG-Bank Linkage Programme
The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SHG-BLP) is India's system for connecting small groups of poor people, called Self-Help Groups, with formal banks. A Self-Help Group is a small group, usually of 10 to 20 women from similar backgrounds, who save a little money regularly and lend it to each other. Under SHG-BLP, a bank opens a savings account in the group's name and later gives the group a loan, without asking for any property as security. Started by NABARD in 1992, it has grown into the world's largest microfinance programme, reaching about 17 crore households.
The President said more than 10 crore women have joined SHGs and that some now earn over ₹2 lakh a year. That growth rests on SHG-BLP, which gives these groups cheap, collateral-free bank loans. Turning Lakhpati Didis into Crorepati Didis will need larger and better-targeted bank credit for the strongest SHG entrepreneurs.
- National Saras Mela: Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, October 2026; organised by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Government of Andhra Pradesh
- Women in SHGs: more than 10 crore joined over the past 12 years
- Rural women farmers brought into the livelihoods mission: more than 5 crore
- Some SHG women entrepreneurs earn more than ₹2 lakh a year
- Lakhpati Didi: ₹1 lakh or more annual household income; announced 15 August 2023 (target 2 crore), raised to 3 crore in February 2024
- DAY-NRLM: launched June 2011 (replaced SGSY, 1999); Ministry of Rural Development
- SHG-BLP: NABARD pilot 1992; collateral-free loans up to ₹20 lakh; SHG loan NPA about 1.74% (March 2025)
- Developed-nation goal: Viksit Bharat by 2047