By TC News Desk
Agartala, 4th December 2024: Tripura has secured the second position in the number of lakhpati didis in the North-East region, with Assam holding the top spot. This was revealed by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Dr. Chandrashekhar Pemmasani, during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.
Dr. Pemmasani provided detailed insights into the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), a central scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development. The scheme, which aims to strengthen the rural economy by organizing rural poor women into Self Help Groups (SHGs), is being implemented across the country, excluding Delhi and Chandigarh. The objective is to improve the quality of life, make women financially self-reliant, and lift them out of poverty.
Highlighting the success of the “Lakhpati Didi” initiative under DAY-NRLM, Dr. Pemmasani said, “A structured approach has been adopted to financially empower SHG members, enabling them to earn a minimum of Rs 1 lakh per year on a permanent basis.”
Tripura boasts 58,495 lakhpati didis, ranking second in the North-East region. Assam leads with 5,18,359 lakhpati didis, followed by Meghalaya with 39,976, Mizoram with 17,167, Manipur with 15,559, Nagaland with 12,294, Sikkim with 7,794, and Arunachal Pradesh with 5,057.
Dr. Pemmasani also discussed the Namo Drone Didi project under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, aimed at providing drones to 15,000 SHG members from the financial year 2023-24 to 2025-26. “In 2023-24, fertilizer companies distributed 503 drones to SHG members through their own resources,” he noted.
To date, 10.05 crore women have been included in 90.87 lakh SHGs under the DAY-NRLM scheme until October 2024. This scheme provides various facilities through banks to economically empower SHGs according to their eligibility.
The Ministry has initiated an impact assessment study to understand the financial independence of women in SHGs under DAY-NRLM. An evaluation study conducted in 2019-20 by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation with the support of the World Bank showed significant positive outcomes. “There was a 19% increase in income compared to the initial capital, a 20% decrease in informal credit, and a 28% increase in savings. Labor force participation improved with a 4% higher proportion of women reporting secondary occupations in medical care. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the number of social programs adopted by medical families (6.5% higher than the baseline of 2.8 programs),” Dr. Pemmasani shared.
The Minister emphasized the ongoing commitment to empowering rural women and enhancing their economic status through sustained efforts and initiatives under DAY-NRLM.
