Har Ghar Udyam, Har Gaon Samriddh: Rural Women Entrepreneurship Drive Launched
Officials and stakeholders from the Ministry of Rural Development, NITI Aayog, NABARD and partner institutions during the launch of the National Campaign on Entrepreneurship under DAY-NRLM in New Delhi. (File photo)
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a National Campaign on Entrepreneurship to scale up non-farm livelihoods under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), targeting large-scale enterprise creation among rural women.
The campaign aims to train 50,000 community resource persons in enterprise promotion and provide Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training to 50 lakh self-help group members across the country. The initiative is designed to accelerate progress towards the government’s goal of creating at least three crore Lakhpati Didis—women SHG members earning ₹1 lakh or more annually.
Non-farm rural enterprises have emerged as a key pathway for income diversification under DAY-NRLM. Existing initiatives, including the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme, have demonstrated the effectiveness of trained community cadres in identifying enterprise opportunities, supporting start-ups, and providing mentoring and handholding at the grassroots level. The new national campaign seeks to rapidly expand this cadre to meet the scale required for the Lakhpati Didi mission.
The campaign was launched on January 12 with participation from representatives of NITI Aayog, NABARD, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFMR LEAD (KREA University), EDII, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, and senior officials from State Rural Livelihoods Missions.
According to the ministry, the initiative presents a strategic opportunity to deepen enterprise development across rural India, foster local economic growth, and unlock the entrepreneurial potential of SHG women. By building a strong network of community resource persons and training millions of women entrepreneurs, the campaign is expected to strengthen a resilient, inclusive, and self-reliant non-farm rural economy, while improving access to formal finance and enterprise credit at the grassroots level.
