From Self Help Groups to Lakhpati Didis: How women are being empowered in India

New Delhi: Women empowerment is a term often used in common parlance these days, especially in India. This is so because historically women of the country have been at a disadvantaged position as compared to men, both socially and economically. The government of the country has for long been running campaigns and programmes for women upliftment and empowerment.

Self Help Groups were among the first organisations which helped in women empowerment. The current government came up with several programmes like, 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', ‘Ujjwala Scheme', 'Swadhar Greh Scheme', ' Mahila Shakti Kendra' and several other such schemes for empowerment of women.

The idea of Self Help Groups with women as its members originated in neighbouring Bangladesh in 1976. The SHGs as they are commonly known, began as micro finance institutions. In 1983, the Bangladesh government formally recognised these SHGs.

In India the SHGs were adopted by the government sometime in the 1990s. The NABARD must be credited with starting the first SHG in the country. These micro finance institutions were later identified by the Reserve Bank of India, in the year 1993 and were allowed to open saving accounts in nationalised banks.

Currently the Self Help Groups come under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The Ministry involves SHGs in the implementation of several other government programmes like, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana –National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and such others. The involvement of SHGs in programmes of rural development has increased over time.

Under the (DAY-NRLM) which started in 2011, the government aims to have at least 1 woman as a member of a Self Help Group from the rural poor household and help them take up economic activities. Till January 2025, at least 10.05 crore women households had been mobilised into 90.90 lakh Self Help Groups.

Similarly under the MGNREGA women SHG members are actively participating in planning of work, by participating in the Gram Sabha meetings. Often they function as work site supervisors or social auditors of the tasks being carried out. SHG Federations are also made Project Impl;ementing Agencies at the Gram Panchayat/Block and District levels.

The Lakhpati Didis scheme is also being implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development. Herein the members of the Self Help Groups are being helped to achieve an annual household income of Rs 1 lakh. The money they earn is through sustainable livelihood practices. The scheme basically aims at providing financial stability to the rural women in India.

The Ministry follows 5 steps in creating these Lakhpati Didis. They are:

1. Identifying potential Lakhpati Didis

2. Creating a pool of master trainers and community resource persons

3. Training and capacity building of the stakeholders, which includes, various Self Help Groups, community resource persons, master trainers, and support staff

4. Training, capacity building and exposure of the potential Lakhpati Didis on various Livelihood Models and giving them access to resource documents

5. Preparation of Lakhpati Plan of the identified household

Apart from the above, community resource persons are tagged along with the identified Lakhpati Didis, to help them out whenever required and an Ajeevika Register is maintained to report livelihood activities and income periodically. While identifying the Lakhpati Didis, equal opportunity is extended to all SHGs, no matter which socio-economic strata of society they represent.

The importance of the Lakhpati Didi programme can be gauged from the fact that PM Narendra Modi himself has addressed a Lakhpati Didi Sammelan in Jalgaon, Maharashtra in August 2024. He handed out certificates to 11 lakh new Lakhpati Didis who became Lakhpati during the third term of the BJP government. Apart from that a Revolving Fund of Rs 2,500 crore was also released on the occasion which would benefit 48 lakh members of 4.3 lakh SHGs.

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwla Yojana was launched on May 1,2016 in Uttar Pradesh Ballia. This is yet another scheme of the government to empower women. Under this programme, deposit free LPG connections are provided in the name of adult women members of poor households all across India.

As of December 2024 a total of 10.33 crore gas connections had already been provided across India, according to the data available with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The sale of LPGs has also increased by 63% between 2014-15 to 2023-24.

Adult women belonging to a Scheduled Caste Household, Scheduled Tribe household, one who is eligible for a Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Most Backward Classes, one who is a beneficiary of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, comes from the community of tea and ex-tea garden tribes, is a forest dweller, resides in islands or a river island, comes from SEEC household, or a poor household are all eligible for the Ujjawala Scheme. The applicant must be 18 years of age, that is she must be an adult and there should not be any other LPG connection in her house.

Achievements of Ujjwala Scheme

The Ujjwala Scheme has helped women across India. Some of the achievements listed by the government are:

1. It resulted in shifting from the traditional cooking methods, which saw women work for hours cooking food using solid fuels like wood, dung and crop residues. The use of LPG helped lower pollution inside the households thus leading to better respiratory health for the women.

2. The time spent by women in the kitchen is also considerably reduced. As cooking on LPG is much faster than on wood fired ovens. The free time they get now is utilised in many economically more beneficial activities.

3. The less reliance on wood for cooking also reduces deforestation. environmental degradation is thus checked considerably. So the benefits of LPG are manifold. It not only helps the households, but also the environment.

4. Use of LPG is considerably safer as open fire is not used for cooking. So accidents are also reduced.