Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, declared that a new chapter in women's empowerment is being written in Bihar, citing 48 lakh Lakhpati Didis already enrolled under the state's flagship livelihood programme. He set an ambitious target of making 1 crore women financially self-reliant within the next two years.

Posting on X, Choudhary wrote: '48 lakh Lakhpati Didigon ke saath Bihar mein mahila sashaktikaran ka naya adhyaya likha ja raha hai' — 'A new chapter of women's empowerment is being written in Bihar with 48 lakh Lakhpati Didis.' He added that the goal is to make 1 crore sisters self-reliant in the next two years, so that every woman, economically strengthened, can become a participant in the progress of her family and society.

Context

The Lakhpati Didi initiative is rooted in the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), which was restructured in 2011 to focus on graduating women in self-help groups (SHGs) to higher income brackets. The concept of a 'Lakhpati Didi' — a woman earning at least Rs 1 lakh annually through sustainable livelihood activities — was formally scaled at the national level in the 2023-24 Union Budget, with a target of creating one crore such women across Indian states.

Bihar, with one of India's largest rural female populations, has been an active participant in this national push. The state's current NDA dispensation under CM Choudhary has set its own numeric milestones, building on the SHG infrastructure laid by successive governments over two decades.

Policy Backdrop

Indian states have used self-help group platforms since the early 2000s to channel credit, skills training, and market linkages to rural women. Bihar has followed this template while layering state-specific income thresholds and beneficiary targets atop the national framework. The #ViksitBihar hashtag used by the Chief Minister signals that women's economic inclusion is being positioned as a pillar of the state's broader development vision.

The two-year timeline announced by Choudhary implies scaling from the current 48 lakh enrolled women to 1 crore — an addition of roughly 52 lakh beneficiaries — through expanded SHG mobilisation, skill-building, and access to institutional credit.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are rural women in Bihar organised into self-help groups, particularly those in economically marginalised households. For these women, achieving the Rs 1 lakh annual income threshold means access to better nutrition, education for children, and reduced dependence on informal moneylenders.

The programme also has downstream effects on local rural economies, as SHG-linked enterprises — spanning handicrafts, food processing, and agri-services — generate demand and supply chains within villages. Financial institutions partnered with DAY-NRLM stand to expand their rural credit portfolios as more women graduate to the Lakhpati tier.

What's Next

The two-year deadline set by CM Choudhary will make the Lakhpati Didi programme a key performance indicator heading into Bihar's 2027 state electoral cycle. Progress reports and any mid-term review are expected to feature prominently in the state's 2026-27 budget session. Independent assessments of actual income levels among enrolled women — beyond enrolment numbers — will be critical to evaluating whether the programme delivers substantive economic change or remains largely a headline figure.