Stronger support ecosystem to promote women-led rural enterprises: Dr Rajeshwari

• Three-Day National Consultative workshop on SHE-LiFE begins in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: Director Rural Livelihoods-I, DAY-NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, Dr. Rajeshwari S.M on Tuesday said that the Mission is building a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem to enable rural women to move beyond subsistence livelihoods and emerge as confident business owners. She was addressing the inaugural session of a three-day National Consultative Workshop on SHE-LiFE—Self-Help Entrepreneurs in Livestock and Farm Enterprises, at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Srinagar.

Hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) under DAY-NRLM, the workshop brings together NRLM officers, representatives of State Rural Livelihoods Missions from 28 States, members of the National Mission Management Unit and other stakeholders. The participants will deliberate on and contribute to the formulation of guidelines for promoting women-led livestock and farm enterprises across rural India.

Highlighting the scale and achievements of DAY-NRLM, Dr .Rajeshwari S.M. said that 10.05 crore women have been mobilised into more than 94 lakh Self-Help Groups, which have been federated into over five lakh Village Organisations and more than 34,000 Cluster-Level Federations.

She said the institutional network has facilitated more than ₹13.76 lakh crore in bank credit while maintaining a non-performing asset rate of below two percent. In addition, over ₹66,000 crore has been extended as capitalisation support.

Rajeshwari S.M. further said that 5.2 crore Mahila Kisans and more than 87 lakh women-led enterprises are already part of the rural livelihoods ecosystem. Under DAY-NRLM’s Vision 2031, the Mission aims to transform rural households into enterprising drivers of prosperity through six key pillars—finance, skilling, mentorship, market access, technology and business support.

Dr Rajeshwari said DAY-NRLM must serve as an effective bridge connecting rural women with institutional finance, markets, technology and government support so that they can establish sustainable and competitive enterprises.

The workshop was inaugurated by Rajeshwari S.M. in the presence of Raman Wadhwa, Deputy Director, NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development; Dr. Shubhra Sharma, Mission Director, JKRLM; Syed Sajad Qadri, Director, JKRLM; Syed Naseer, Additional Mission Director, JKRLM Kashmir; Mission Directors and representatives of State Rural Livelihoods Missions from Mizoram, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh; besides other senior officers and stakeholders.

Speaking on the occasion, Raman Wadhwa presented the proposed framework of SHE-LiFE, an initiative envisioned for implementation from 2026 to 2031. He said it seeks to enable rural women to progress from participation in livelihood activities to ownership of formal, market-linked and climate-resilient enterprises in livestock and dairy, agriculture and allied activities, and fisheries and aquaculture.

He said the initiative would draw strength from DAY-NRLM’s extensive grassroots network, comprising 10.05 crore women associated with SHGs, five crore Mahila Kisans, more than two lakh producer groups and 50 lakh women organised into different collectives.

The proposed framework envisages a transparent, application- and portal-based selection mechanism, a structured five-phase capacity-building programme, bank credit support for project costs and convergence with schemes of various ministries and institutions, including the National Livestock Mission, PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, NABARD and MUDRA.

Wadhwa said the initiative would be supported by a dedicated digital system to track the entrepreneur’s journey—from selection and training to financing, enterprise launch and market linkage. 

Welcoming the delegates, Mission Director JKRLM Dr. Shubhra Sharma highlighted the evolution of NRLM from mobilising women into SHGs to developing sustainable community-owned enterprises.

She said SHE-LiFE represents a critical transition from basic livelihood support to structured enterprise development. The initiative seeks to transform community cadres, including Krishi Sakhis and Pashu Sakhis, into Udyog Sakhis and successful rural entrepreneurs.

Dr. Sharma stressed the need for seamless convergence among government departments and financial institutions, observing that the support ecosystem must function as an integrated unit to empower rural women as business owners. She outlined a vision focused on developing resilient enterprises, strengthening credit and market linkages and enabling women to play a leading role in the rural economy.

She also encouraged the delegates to draw lessons from the experiences, challenges and successes of rural women entrepreneurs while contributing to the proposed SHE-LiFE guidelines.

The first day of the workshop featured three panel discussions. The first session focused on the identification and selection of eligible women entrepreneurs and the implementation framework for SHE-LiFE. The second session examined the proposed financial and funding processes, including application procedures, assistance structures and allocation mechanisms.

The third session featured an entrepreneurship plenary during which women entrepreneurs from different districts of Kashmir shared their journeys, initial challenges, operational achievements and the turning points that helped transform their livelihood activities into successful enterprises.

The three-day consultation, being held from September 22 to 24, will seek recommendations from participating States, Union Territories, domain experts and field practitioners to develop comprehensive and implementable guidelines for SHE-LiFE.