In News:

The Union government has announced SHE-Mart (Self-Help Entrepreneur Mart) as a new institutional platform to promote women entrepreneurship in rural India. The initiative represents a shift from traditional micro-credit support towards structured, market-linked enterprises owned and managed by women.

Key Highlights:

SHE-Marts are envisioned as community-owned retail outlets established at the cluster-level federation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). They will be supported through enhanced and innovative financing mechanisms, ensuring sustainability and scalability.

Objectives

SHE-Marts aim to:

• Provide permanent retail spaces for SHG-produced goods
• Ensure direct market access, reducing dependence on intermediaries
• Promote branding, packaging, and value addition
• Encourage processing of agricultural and non-farm products
• Create sustainable income streams for rural women
• Strengthen grassroots institutions such as SHGs and their federations

The initiative signals a policy transition from credit-led livelihoods to enterprise ownership, integrating production, marketing, and financial inclusion.

Lakhpati Didi Programme

SHE-Marts build upon the Lakhpati Didi Programme, launched in 2023, which aims to enable women SHG members to earn at least ?1 lakh per year through skill development and enterprise promotion.

Key Features of Lakhpati Didi

• Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development
• Targets financial empowerment of rural women
• Focuses on skill training in diverse trades such as:
  • Plumbing
  • Tailoring and weaving
  • LED bulb manufacturing
  • Drone operation and repair
• Provides income-generation opportunities post-training
• National target: Training 2 crore women

By equipping women with technical and entrepreneurial skills, the programme lays the foundation for their participation in structured markets — which SHE-Marts now seek to institutionalize.

Significance for Inclusive Development

Together, Lakhpati Didi and SHE-Mart represent a comprehensive rural transformation model based on:

• Women-led economic growth
• Local value addition and market integration
• Strengthening SHG federations as economic institutions
• Reducing rural poverty through enterprise ownership