Lok Sabha Question No. 1229 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-11
Subject: Women Entrepreneurs
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Anurag Singh Thakur

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1229 ANSWERED ON 11/02/2025

## WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

## 1229. SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the specific objectives and aims of the Government to achieve through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with ten banks, and the manner in which these objectives facilitate credit  access  for  individual  women  entrepreneurs  under  the DeendayalAntyodayaYojana-National  Rural  Livelihood  Mission (DAY-NRLM);
- (b) the detailed information on how these MoUs are structured to address employment challenges in rural areas, particularly in promoting  individual financing for higher-order enterprises among Self Help Group (SHG) members;
- (c) the  manner  in  which  this  initiative  integrate  with  ongoing schemes such as the DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDU-GKY) and the NRLM  to create a cohesive strategy for rural development and employment generation; and
- (d) the manner in which this initiative align with the "LakhpatiDidi" vision and what is its expected impact on enhancing women's livelihoods,  particularly  in  enabling  SHG  members  to  achieve an annual household income of at least Rs. 1,00,000?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

(a): DeendayalAntyodayaYojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) was launched in 2011 with the objective of organizing the rural poor women into Self Help Groups (SHGs), and continuously  nurturing  and  supporting  them  to  take  economic

activities  till  they  attain  appreciable  increase  in  income  over  a period of time and come out of abject poverty.

Cumulatively,  10.05  crore  women  have  been  mobilized  into 90.90  lakh  SHGs  so  far.  DAY-NRLM  provides  funds  to  create  a resource in perpetuity for the community institutions to strengthen their  institutional  and  financial  management  capacity  and  build their  track  record  to  attract  mainstream  Bank  finance.  The  total amount of Capitalisation Support (Revolving Funds and Community Investment Funds) provided is Rs. 48,290 crores. Further, the total

Bank loans disbursed are Rs. 9.89 lakh crore till January, 2025

To further enable the graduation of the matured  SHG members as individual entrepreneurs and create LakhpatiDidis, the Ministry  of  Rural  Development  is  taking  systematic  steps.  In  this direction, Memorandum  of  Understandings  (MoUs) have been signed with eleven Banks to facilitate credit access for individual women for their businesses ventures. The Banks with which MoUs have  been  signed  are  State  Bank  of  India,  Bank  of  Maharashtra, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian  Bank,  Indian  Overseas  Bank,  Punjab  National  Bank,  UCO Bank and IDBI Bank Ltd. The main objectives of the M O U are :-

1.    Implement  a  demonstrable  model  of  direct  bank  finance  to individual SHG member for setting up viable economic enterprises.
2.    Establish  structured  process  and  protocol  for  extending  bank
3. finance to individual SHG member.
3.    Capacity Building and sensitization of Bank officials and SRLM women-led
5. functionaries towards need of bank finance for enterprises.
4.    Create / define new credit products to meet the emerging credit requirements of women-led enterprises.

This will ensure access to finance to individual women members of

SHGs.

- (b): Banks have designed special credit for individual  SHG members to support enterprise financing.  These MoUs with Banks will  facilitate  affordable  and  hassle  free  credit  to  individual  SHG members to establish and scale up enterprises/businesses. These enterprises/businesses will  enhance the income of SHG members and will also catalyze the employment generation in rural areas.

(c): The MoUs signed under DAY-NRLM aim to provide affordable and timely credit to rural women entrepreneurs of SHG, supporting both  farm  and  non-farm  livelihoods.  These  MoUs  enable  women entrepreneurs from SHGs to access financing for enterprises, thus creating  employment  opportunities.  By  integrating  with  schemes like DAY-NRLM, the MoUs create a cohesive strategy that addresses financial needs of entrepreneurs and enhance the sustainability of rural enterprises.

(d): The LakhpatiDidi  initiative  is  an  outcome  of  the  DAY-NRLM, which aligns directly with the program's vision of empowering rural women and promoting their economic independence. A LakhpatiDidi  is  a  Self-Help  Group  (SHG)  member  whose annual household income is at least Rs. 1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh) with an  average  monthly  income  of  at  least  Rs.  10,000  (Rupees  Ten Thousand)  sustained  for  at  least  4  agricultural  seasons  and/or business cycles.

Through  partnerships  with  eleven  Banks,  a  reliable  channel has been created for SHG women to access affordable credit with simplified paper work, for setting up businesses. This initiative of promoting entrepreneurship will also facilitate making of LakhpatiDidis.

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