Andhra Pradesh Tops with 14,87,631 Lakhpati Didis; Punjab Trails with 31,700

New Delhi, Dec 3 (NationPress) Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal are the top three populous states excelling in the establishment of Lakhpati Didis, at a time when there are a total of 1,15,00,274 such women entrepreneurs throughout the nation, as informed to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani stated in a written response that there are 14,87,631 Lakhpati Didis in Andhra Pradesh, 13,47,649 in Bihar, and 11,81,852 in West Bengal.

Madhya Pradesh has 10,51,069 Lakhpati Didis, Maharashtra 10,04,338, Uttar Pradesh 8,41,923, Telangana 7,58,693, Gujarat 5,38,760, Odisha 5,37,350, Jharkhand 3,51,808, Tamil Nadu 3,18,101, Kerala 2,84,616, Rajasthan 2,70,405, and Karnataka 2,36,315.

The northern states of Punjab and Haryana have a modest count of Lakhpati Didis, with 31,700 and 62,743, respectively.

In response to inquiries from Kota Srinivasa Poojary and Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, the Minister of State mentioned that under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme, a total of 503 drones have been allocated as of December 3.

A majority of 97 drones were distributed in Andhra Pradesh, followed by 84 in Karnataka, 72 in Telangana, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Uttar Pradesh, 30 in Maharashtra, 23 in Punjab, and 22 in Haryana.

The MoS also stated that under the Deendayal Antodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), a centrally sponsored initiative from the Ministry of Rural Development, 10.05 crore women have been organized into 90.87 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) by October 2024.

According to an impact evaluation study conducted in 2019-20 by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) with backing from the World Bank, the DAY-NRLM has resulted in a 19% rise in income, as noted by the MoS.

The study also highlighted a 20% decrease in the share of informal loans and a 28% enhancement in savings.

The Ministry authorized these impact evaluation studies to gauge the implications for the financial autonomy of SHG women resulting from the interventions under the DAY-NRLM.

The DAY-NRLM is a process-oriented programme that offers various benefits such as the Revolving Fund, Community Investment Fund, and Bank Linkage to SHGs based on their eligibility and requirements.

DAY-NRLM is being executed nationwide (excluding Delhi and Chandigarh) with the aim of reducing rural poverty, among other objectives, by organizing rural impoverished women into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and providing ongoing support until they achieve significant increases in income over time, enhance their living standards, and escape extreme poverty, the minister stated.

The Lakhpati Didi initiative is a significant outcome of the DAY-NRLM. A systematic approach has been employed to enable the members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to become Lakhpati or to ensure they earn a minimum income of one lakh rupees annually on a sustainable basis.