THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, OCTOBER 6, 2026

The Odisha government on Tuesday released Rs 99.26 crore as interest subvention to 1,79,809 self-help groups (SHGs), besides disbursing Rs 151.28 crore through various community-based funds to strengthen women-led livelihoods and enterprises across the state.

The financial assistance was released by Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida at a programme organised at Mission Shakti Bhawan here, as the state government stepped up efforts to enhance the financial and institutional capacity of SHGs and their federations.

Addressing the gathering, Parida said women were no longer merely beneficiaries of development programmes but were increasingly emerging as key drivers of Odisha’s economic and social transformation.

 “Women are not merely beneficiaries of development; they are emerging as drivers of Odisha’s economic and social transformation. I am confident that Nari Shakti will lead the development journey of Odisha in the coming years,” she said.

The latest release takes the total interest subvention disbursed to SHGs during the current financial year to Rs 247.03 crore. The government had earlier released Rs 147.77 crore to 2,88,198 SHGs on June 24.

The state has made a budgetary provision of Rs 575 crore towards interest subvention for SHGs for 2026-27. It has also set an ambitious target of Rs 20,000 crore in bank credit linkage for SHGs during the financial year.

The government said the combined support of bank credit, interest subvention and community funds would provide women with greater access to finance to expand livelihoods and enterprises and help more women achieve the status of ‘Lakhpati Didis’.

Apart from the interest subvention, Rs 151.28 crore was released under three key community-based financial support mechanisms. Of this, Rs 29.31 crore was provided as Revolving Fund to 15,526 SHGs, Rs 113.80 crore as Community Investment Fund to 371 Gram Panchayat-level Federations and Rs 8.18 crore as Vulnerability Reduction Fund to 605 Area Level Federations.

Representatives of SHGs from various districts received cheques during the programme. In Khordha, Maa Chanchelei SHG, Sai Ram SHG and Sai Unnati SHG received Rs 38,927, Rs 37,958 and Rs 37,847, respectively, towards interest subvention.

Under the Revolving Fund component, 15,526 SHGs across 29 districts received a combined Rs 29.31 crore. Representatives of Om Sai Ram and Hari Shankar SHGs from Cuttack and Sri Satya Sai and Vaibhav Laxmi SHGs from Jajpur received cheques of Rs 30,000 each.

The Community Investment Fund of Rs 113.80 crore was released to 371 Gram Panchayat-level Federations across 26 districts. Representatives of Algum and Gadmotari Gram Panchayat-level Federations from Puri received cheques of Rs 45 lakh and Rs 35 lakh, respectively.

Similarly, Rs 8.18 crore was released to 605 Area Level Federations across 19 districts under the Vulnerability Reduction Fund. Representatives of Gundadurisahi and Karadabani Area Level Federations from Ganjam received cheques of Rs 1.50 lakh each.

The government also sought to broaden the scope of women-led economic activity through two new collaborations. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Collective for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CINI) to promote and expand the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative.

Another MoU was signed with the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) to promote green entrepreneurship among women SHGs and encourage the adoption of renewable energy.

The partnership with OREDA is expected to help rural women entrepreneurs develop environmentally sustainable businesses, create sustainable livelihoods and contribute more significantly to the socio-economic development of their communities.

The programme was attended by Mission Shakti Commissioner-cum-Secretary Manasi Nimbhal, Mission Shakti Director Monika Priyadarshini, SLBC Odisha Convenor, senior officials of the department, representatives of banks and partner organisations, OREDA and CINI, besides district-level officials and SHG members from across the state who joined virtually.