Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has a dream to make 2 crore lakhpati didi across India. But like many, if you have the same question, ‘Lakhpati Didi Yojana (लखपति दीदी योजना) kya hai’, then this will be the right place for you.
Come with us as we take you to August 15, 2023, through the ramparts of the Red Fort and Prime Minister Modi’s dream of transforming India.
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What Are Self-Help Groups?
Before we begin, it is important to understand what Self Help Groups (SHGs) are. As the name suggests, SHGs are small groups of poor people who face similar problems and help each other solve their problems. SHGs facilitate small savings under its name that are kept with the bank, which would later be given as small loans to its members in need.
After following the foundation of ‘Bank-wali didi’, ‘Anganwadi didi’, and “Dawai-wali didi’, the Modi-Government SHGs initiative is to make ‘Lakhpati didi’.
और पढ़े: महिला कॉयर योजना (एमसीवाई)
What Is The Lakhpati Didi Scheme (लखपति दीदी योजना)?
To date, our nation has around 90+lakh SHGs. These groups have transformed the lives of ten crore women. SHGs have not only changed rural India’s socio-economic landscape but also helped women become empowered and self-reliant.
A Lakhpati Didi is a member of any SHG with an annual household income surpassing INR 1,00,000. But moving past the monetary aid, this Ministry of Rural Development initiative is helping women adopt sustainable livelihood practices, ultimately changing their lifestyle.
Lakhpati Didi Yojana And The 2024-25 Budget
Initiated in 2023 and aimed at 2 crore women, in the interim Budget 2024-25, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman extended the number of beneficiaries to 3 crore.
Overview Of The Lakhpati Didi Yojana (लखपति दीदी योजना) Strategy
With this initiative, diversified, strengthened, and growing livelihood options can be noticed. The household will be encouraged to choose multiple income-generating sources and careers.
All members of the SHGs federation will get quality implementation support almost immediately. Be it assets like equipment or infrastructure, skill development, banking assistance, or marketing help, any service required will be given instantly.
The Lakhpati Didi Yojana is well integrated with other schemes on both inter- and intra-departmental levels.
Regular training and skill development are integral parts of this initiative. Training various elements needed for better livelihood activities and increasing the knowledge of women is paramount.
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Financial Assistance Under The Lakhpati Didi Scheme (लखपति दीदी योजना )
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Revolving Fund (RF): Members regularly contribute a small fund from their savings to lend to each other with the SHG group. As the group age increases, so does the collected interest, which belongs to all the members.
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Vulnerability Reduction Fund (VRF): VRF is given to the SHGs through primary and secondary level federations. These funds support the members’s lifestyles and promote collective activities between them.
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Community Investment Fund (CIF): This fund aims to develop the credit score of the community among the financial institutes. Along with that, with CIF, poor women could also learn financial management skills.
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Viability Gap Fund (VGF): Cluster Level Federations, or CLFs, are given Community Investment Funds in the form of start-up funds, or CIFs. Through this, CLFs are earning their income to meet their working expenditures.
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Bank Linkage: Monetary help is a key element in empowering any SHG group and its members. To make Lakhpati Didi, it is important to make them preferred clients of the banking system.
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Financial Assistance and Better Price Negotiation for Women Producer Groups (PGs).
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Lakhpati Didi Yojana aims to promote all and any large-size women Producer Enterprises (PEs). This collectively improves the SHG member’s sales, market reach, business, and more.
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In conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Lakhpati Didi Scheme is helping Women Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with Rs 15 lakh of equity grant support for three years.
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The Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) is provided for individual and group enterprise promotion, helping SHG members with various earning options.
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With economic growth and reducing poverty and unemployment, the Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is supporting rural enterprises of SHG women.
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Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana, or AGEY, in conjunction with Lakhpati Didi Yojana, is helping women provide safe and affordable community-monitoring transport services to areas not yet serviced by the market.
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One Stop Facility, or OSF, is a business facilitation and incubation centre to provide BD services to non-enterprises.
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To assist and support SHG members and their family members, the MED (Micro Enterprise Development) scheme is providing post-enterprise grounding support for all non-farm sectors.
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The Incubator is a strategy-formation initiative to scale up a minimum of 150 existing women-driven enterprises across India.
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Under the Lakhpati Didi Yojana, two forms of clustering are promoted. One is Arstisan clusters with a handloom and handicrafts focus, and the second is Sectoral clusters focusing on food service, nutrition, tourism, and more.
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Other capitalisation support extended to SHG members are collateral-free loans and interest subvention, and every woman under the scheme with a Jan-Dhan account is eligible for an overdraft amount.
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Lakhpati Didi Schme provides a Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund for both individual enterprises and collective enterprises/FPOs.
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The last is marketing support. The Lakhpati Didi scheme gets a dedicated e-commerce platform, a gallery curated with SHG products, an alliance with major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, and an association with Patanjali.
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Are You Eligible For Being A Lakhpati Didi(लखपति दीदी)?
There are very simple criteria for women to be called lakhpati didi.
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The woman must be a permanent resident of the state.
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The annual household income of the applicant woman must not exceed Rs 3 lakh.
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No member of the applicant’s family should be in a government job.
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What Are The Benefits Of The Lakhpati Didi Yojana (लखपति दीदी योजना) ?
Here are the key benefits of the Lakhpati Didi Yojana.
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The applicant woman should be an SHG member. This enables them to receive training in different locations.
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Through the Lakhpati Didi Scheme, every SHG gets an entry of up to 20,000 new women, helping them manage and start their businesses.
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Getting drones for irrigation activities will aid in the technological enhancement of the rural agriculture sector and empower women.
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Lakhpati Didi provides various benefits to SHG women, like financial literacy workshops, insurance, loan facilities, skill development, incentives, and more.
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How To Apply For The Lakhpati Didi Yojana (लखपति दीदी योजना )?
So once your eligibility criteria are good to go, let’s see how you can apply for the lakhpati didi yojana.
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Make sure to have all the required documents, such as a residence certificate, Aadhar card, ration card, income proof, bank account information, and an operative mobile number.
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Being a member of a local SHG is very crucial. These groups are the primary channel where all government plans and scheme information is distributed. So, if you are not part of one, then join a local SHG today.
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After that, visit your nearest Anganwadi centre, where complete information regarding the lakhpati didi scheme is given. Along with that, complete guidance is also provided on how to fill out the form and complete the process.
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Fill out the Lakhpati Didi Yojana form, and make sure to mention all the written details to avoid any rejection.
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Submit your application form and attach all the documents required to the nearest Anganwadi centre or scheme-designated office.
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Once applying, a verification process is done to check the applicant’s eligibility details and provide information.
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Once the application is approved, a confirmation will be given by letter, email, or SMS.
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To start, the applicant has to attend financial literacy workshops and related training programmes.
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Only after successful completion of all the aforementioned steps will the applicant receive financial assistance and skill development training to be able to be a ‘lakhpati didi’.
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