The Modi 3.0 government created 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis within 100 days of its third term in office, completed on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said during a press briefing. To highlight the government’s achievements, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has separately posted on X that “With 10 crore women mobilized under DAY-NRLM, ₹5,000 crores in bank loans and expanded MUDRA loan limits, India is advancing women-led development. Empowering #LakhpatiDidis, supporting women entrepreneurs, and creating opportunities in tourism—#NariShakti is contributing to building a stronger and more resilient nation.”

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What Is The Lakhpati Didi Scheme?

On the occasion of India’s 77th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Lakhpati Didi scheme to financially empower women, especially those in the economically weaker sections. The scheme provides training on various livelihood skills in addition to financial support. In the interim budget 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set a target to increase the number of Lakhpati Didi beneficiaries from 2 crore to 3 crore. The scheme aims to provide women with skill sets and financial resources via bank loans or loan waivers so they can earn at least Rs 1 lakh a year.

Who Is Lakhpati Didi?

A Lakhpati Didi is a self-help group (SHG) member with an annual household income of Rs 1 lakh or who earns Rs 10,000 per month sustained for four business cycles or agricultural seasons.

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What Does The Scheme Offer To Women?

The Lakhpati Didi initiative provides necessary skills to women through SHGs to earn a livelihood. The scheme converges across government departments, ministries, and private sector. Besides training, it extends financial support, which involves:

Capitalisation Support:

· A ‘Revolving fund’ of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 for each SHG has been created to meet the members’ credit needs.

· A ‘Community Investment Fund’ of up to Rs 2.5 lakh per SHG has been created to advance loans to its members to take up economic activities as per a micro-credit or investment plan.

Bank Loan:

· A ‘Collateral free bank loan’ of up to Rs 20 lakh is provided to each SHG.

· An ‘overdraft facility’ up to Rs 5000 is provided to every eligible SHG member with a Jan-Dhan account.

· The facility of ‘Interest Subvention’ is available on all credits from banks or financial institutions where the women SHGs get credit. The limit is up to Rs 3 lakh per SHG for this facility.

Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund:

The ‘Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund’ offers up to Rs 5 lakh for a maximum of five years to each woman entrepreneur. A 2 per cent interest subvention applies to loans of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for up to three years for individual enterprises. For collective enterprise, this fund will be used for collateral up to 50 per cent of the credit extended or up to Rs 2 crore, whichever is less.