On the sacred nine nights of Navratri — a festival that literally celebrates feminine power — Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has put a striking number on the table: 8.5 lakh women across the state have crossed the lakhpati threshold through self-employment, joining a national movement that is quietly rewriting rural household economics.

Posting on Sunday, October 11, 2026, CM Patel invoked the phrase 'Nari tu Narayani' (Woman, you are divine) to frame a milestone in Gujarat's women-led livelihood drive. He noted that 2.5 lakh Sakhi Mandals — self-help groups — have brought together nearly 24 lakh women across the state, enabling them to 'open the doors of financial prosperity for their families through self-employment.'

What Sakhi Mandals and GLPC Are Building on the Ground

At the centre of this push is the Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company (GLPC), the state nodal agency that provides credit linkage, skill training, and market access to self-help group members. CM Patel credited GLPC — tagged as @GlpcLivelihood — with creating 'many new opportunities for self-reliance' for these women. The network of 2.5 lakh Sakhi Mandals is the backbone: micro-collectives where women pool savings, access institutional credit, and launch small enterprises ranging from dairy and agri-processing to handicrafts and services.

The 'Lakhpati Didi' designation — awarded to a self-help group member whose household annual income crosses ₹1 lakh — has become a flagship marker under the national scheme championed by the central government. Gujarat's count of 8.5 lakh such women places the state among the leading performers in the programme.

Modi's 'Nari Shakti' Frame and the Viksit Bharat Arc

CM Patel explicitly connected the achievement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's articulation of 'Nari Shakti' — women's power — as a foundational pillar of the Viksit Bharat (Developed India) vision. This is not rhetorical garnish: the Lakhpati Didi scheme was announced at the national level and has been a consistent talking point in BJP governance messaging, positioning women's economic participation as both a social goal and a growth engine for the broader ₹5-trillion economy ambition.

The Navratri timing of the post is deliberate — the festival, celebrated with particular intensity in Gujarat, venerates nine forms of the goddess Durga. Using it as a moment to spotlight women's economic agency is a recurring political-cultural move in Gujarat's governance calendar, blending festival sentiment with policy achievement.

A Milestone That Still Has Miles to Go

The 24 lakh women enrolled across 2.5 lakh Sakhi Mandals represent significant scale, but 8.5 lakh Lakhpati Didis out of that total means roughly one in three has crossed the income threshold — the rest are still on the ladder. That gap is the next frontier for GLPC and state policy: converting SHG membership into sustained income growth, not just participation numbers.

For a state that built its identity around the 'Gujarat Model' of growth, putting women at the front of that story — with auditable numbers and a named institution accountable for delivery — is both a political statement and a governance commitment. The Navratri lamp is lit; the hard work is in keeping it burning year-round.