Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday, 28 May 2026, credited the state's Self Help Group movement with driving economic and social progress, asserting that women entrepreneurs could account for 20 to 30 per cent of Assam's GDP in the years ahead.

Context

Posting under the hashtag #NariShakti, Sarma said that Assam's mothers and sisters are 'driving entrepreneurship, strengthening rural livelihoods and shaping the future of Assam through the SHG movement.' The statement frames women not merely as beneficiaries of welfare schemes but as active economic contributors balancing household responsibilities alongside enterprise.

The Chief Minister stopped short of citing a specific policy announcement, but the remarks signal the government's intent to position SHG-linked enterprise as a structural pillar of the state economy rather than a supplementary livelihood measure.

Policy Backdrop

Self Help Groups have been a cornerstone of rural financial inclusion since NABARD piloted the SHG-bank linkage programme in 1992, providing collateral-free credit to rural women. The National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), launched by the central government in 2011, universalised SHG coverage and linked groups to sustainable livelihood pathways.

Assam, like other north-eastern states, has integrated the NRLM framework with state-specific livelihood missions to address both poverty and historically low female labour-force participation. The convergence of central funding and state implementation has steadily expanded the SHG ecosystem across the state's predominantly rural districts.

Successive governments at the centre and in the states have treated SHGs as the primary vehicle for women's financial inclusion and micro-enterprise promotion since the 1990s. Recent state messaging, including Sarma's post, marks a notable shift in ambition — linking the model explicitly to measurable GDP contribution targets.

Stakeholders and Impact

Rural women and women entrepreneurs across Assam's villages are the immediate stakeholders. SHG members typically pool savings, access micro-credit, and operate enterprises ranging from food processing and handicrafts to agriculture and retail — activities that generate income at the household level and circulate capital within local economies.

A GDP share of 20 to 30 per cent would represent a transformative scale-up. While the figure has not been independently verified against current economic surveys, the aspiration reflects a broader national conversation about formalising and measuring the contribution of the informal women's economy.

What's Next

Analysts and policymakers will watch for the release of Assam's next economic survey or state budget documents that may begin to quantify SHG-linked enterprise turnover in measurable terms. Possible expansion of state-supported value-chain interventions — helping SHG products reach larger markets — could be a concrete next step consistent with the Chief Minister's stated ambitions.

If the government moves to formalise the GDP-contribution target within a policy framework, it could set a precedent for how other states account for and invest in the women-led informal economy.