The Lakhpati Didi scheme, a Central government initiative under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), is reshaping the financial lives of lakhs of women across Gujarat, turning subsistence households into self-sustaining enterprises. With nearly six lakh Lakhpati Didis now active in the state, Gujarat has emerged as one of the leading states in the country under this pan-India programme.

From Village to Viable Business

Bhavnaben Patel, a Lakhpati Didi from Nogama village in Chikhli Taluka of Navsari district, began her entrepreneurial journey through government assistance several years ago. Affiliated with the Gayatri Sakhi Mandal Self-Help Group (SHG), she entered the canteen and catering business under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and the Gujarat government's Mission Mangalam initiative. Today, she runs a successful canteen at the District Panchayat in Navsari, generating an annual income exceeding ₹10 lakh.

Patel said, “My self-help group is named ‘Gayatri Sakhi Mandal’; ten of us sisters work in this group. We have been running a canteen at the District Panchayat for three years. We started the canteen with ₹10 lakh in assistance received from the government. Today, all ten of us sisters are self-reliant; I sincerely thank the government and GLPC for this.”

Craft and Community: A Village Transforms

Komalben Chauhan from Gamdi village in Anand district founded Aastha Sakhi Mandal in May 2014 with just 10 women. The group now crafts earthen lamps, Ganesha idols, patch-work products, torans (door hangings), and bedsheets. By 2024, between 60 and 70 women from the village are associated with the group, each earning up to ₹10,000 per month.

Chauhan said, “Whenever I go out now, people say – Lakhpati Didi has arrived. It is a matter of great pride for me to have gained this new identity.”

Another beneficiary, Rekhaben, who has been part of the Aastha group for 10 years, said the programme gave her a livelihood where none existed before. “Previously, we didn’t do any work at home, but after joining the group, we handle all these tasks. We are now standing on our own feet,” she said.

How the Scheme Works

The Lakhpati Didi initiative operates under DAY-NRLM, administered by the Ministry of Rural Development. Women in SHGs receive technical training, financial assistance, loans, and market access — a bundled support structure designed to move beneficiaries beyond subsistence. The scheme's goal is to ensure each enrolled woman earns a sustainable annual income of at least ₹1 lakh.

Nationally, more than three crore Lakhpati Didis are currently active across India, a figure that reflects the programme's scale since it was significantly expanded in recent years.

Gujarat's Leading Role

Gujarat's tally of nearly six lakh Lakhpati Didis places it among the top-performing states under the scheme. The state's Mission Mangalam programme, which runs in parallel, has provided an additional institutional layer — connecting SHG members to government infrastructure contracts such as canteen operations, which Bhavnaben's group exemplifies. This combination of Central and state-level support has accelerated the pace of financial inclusion for rural women in the state.

As the programme scales further, the experiences of women like Bhavnaben, Komalben, and Rekhaben illustrate both the reach and the ground-level impact of what is now one of India's largest rural women's livelihood initiatives.