THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21, 2026

The government on Friday launched the second phase of its national entrepreneurship campaign for rural women, putting enterprise creation, formalisation, digital commerce and market access at the heart of its push to transform women-led livelihoods into sustainable businesses and accelerate the creation of six crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’.

The three-month National Campaign on Entrepreneurship under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) will run from August 21 to November 21, 2026, with a sharper focus on intensive handholding, enterprise development and marketing of products made by Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

The campaign was launched on World Entrepreneurs Day, observed globally on August 21, and seeks to build on the experience of its first phase by strengthening the rural enterprise ecosystem and helping women move beyond livelihood activities towards viable and growth-oriented enterprises.

On the occasion, the Secretary, Department of Rural Development, also released ‘Sankalp Shakti’, the first Rural Enterprise Technical Bulletin, which will be published as a monthly feature to provide technical and operational support for enterprise promotion.

The second phase will place greater emphasis on enterprise handholding and formalisation, strengthening producer institutions and simplifying implementation processes, while expanding opportunities for rural women across both farm and non-farm livelihoods.

The initiative will focus on strengthening the community enterprise promotion cadre, supporting enterprise formalisation, expanding digital and e-commerce adoption and developing stronger Producer Groups and Producer Enterprises.

As part of the campaign, Community Resource Persons for Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EPs) and Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) will be recognised as ‘Udyam Sakhis’, giving greater visibility and recognition to community-level cadres supporting women in setting up and growing enterprises.

A major thrust will be on opening new markets for SHG products through digital platforms, including ONDC, GeM and other e-commerce marketplaces. The campaign will also facilitate buyer-seller meets and strengthen direct linkages with buyers, aggregators, retailers and institutional purchasers.

States will organise orientation programmes for Cluster Level Federation (CLF) leadership, exposure visits and entrepreneurship development training. Women entrepreneurs will receive support in business planning, financial literacy, product development, branding and digital marketing.

The campaign has set an ambitious array of targets, including orienting 50,000 community cadres and providing entrepreneurship and livelihood training to five lakh SHG women.

It also aims to create a database of five lakh adolescent girls from SHG households, extend formalisation support to 50,000 enterprises, increase membership of Producer Groups and Producer Enterprises by two lakh members, promote agro-ecological practices among 20 lakh women, and onboard 25,000 SHG members onto e-commerce platforms.

A key priority will be to strengthen the farm and non-farm livelihood ecosystem by converting viable livelihood activities into sustainable, women-led enterprises rather than treating farm-based livelihoods merely as training interventions.

The campaign will complement the existing Community Resource Person for Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EP), Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP), Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) and other livelihood support initiatives, creating a more integrated pathway for women to progress from livelihood activities to enterprise creation, formalisation and growth.

The initiative is aligned with the government's broader vision of creating six crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ by strengthening women's economic participation and enabling rural households to build sustainable sources of income through entrepreneurship.

The launch event was attended in person by the Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of the Rural Development Departments of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Goa.

State Mission Directors and Chief Executive Officers of 34 State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs) also participated virtually in the launch.