More than 1,600 Jeevika Didis in Bihar's Samastipur district are working around the clock to fulfil orders for over 80,000 Tricolours as part of the nationwide Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, being held to mark the 150th anniversary of the song Vande Mataram. The campaign has created a significant livelihood boost for women affiliated with the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS), commonly known as Jeevika self-help groups.

Scale of the Campaign

Orders have poured in from government departments, industrial units, community organisations, and individual members of the public. Each flag has been priced at ₹25 to keep it affordable and ensure maximum reach. Every Jeevika group across the district's blocks has been assigned a production target of approximately 4,000 flags, enabling wide distribution ahead of the campaign's culmination.

So far, more than 10,000 flags have been dispatched to the district office and various blocks, with several thousand more ready for delivery. At a single centre, around 4,000 flags have been prepared specifically for the Ujiyarpur block, with further consignments to follow as demand requires.

What Officials Said

Dhananjay Kumar, Jeevika Project Manager in Samastipur, said the Government of India has issued clear directives for the campaign. 'Following instructions from the District Magistrate, every block has been made responsible for ensuring the availability of the Tricolour,' he said. Kumar added that Jeevika's core mandate is to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to rural women so that every Jeevika Didi can contribute meaningfully to her family's income.

Neetu Kumari, in-charge of the Jeevika Women's Cluster Federation, said around 50 women are currently engaged in flag-making at her centre alone. 'Orders worth ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 have been received from the block level, of which work worth about ₹10,000 has already been completed,' she said. Women who own sewing machines are also producing flags from home after receiving the requisite training.

Voices from the Ground

Babita Kumari, a Jeevika Didi involved in the work, noted that her centre ordinarily produces garments such as nighties, Anganwadi uniforms, masks, petticoats, and salwar-suits. 'At present, however, priority is being given to making the Tricolour,' she said. She drew a parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic, when the same women pivoted swiftly to producing masks for public need — underscoring the adaptability that has become a hallmark of the Jeevika network.

Broader Significance

This comes amid a wider push by the Centre to make the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign self-sustaining through rural enterprise rather than centralised procurement. Routing flag production through self-help groups ensures that patriotic spending translates directly into rural women's incomes — a model that has drawn praise from district administration. With 12 August as the reporting date and the campaign window still open, production across Samastipur's blocks is expected to intensify further in the coming days.