The Ministry of Rural Development held a high-level review meeting in Mumbai to assess how banks are lending to women self-help groups and individual female entrepreneurs under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired the meeting and announced a credit roadmap aimed at making loans faster, easier to access and sufficient in amount for women business owners across rural India.
What the Government Plans
Over the next five years, the government will make ₹10 lakh crore available as loans to self-help groups and ₹1 lakh crore to individual women entrepreneurs. So far, banks have extended over ₹13.67 lakh crore in cumulative credit to self-help groups across the country.
The scheme currently covers more than 10 crore rural women organised into 92 to 93 lakh self-help groups. Approximately 3.5 crore women have so far become Lakhpati Didis (those earning at least one lakh rupees annually). The government’s target is to increase this number to 6 crore Lakhpati Didis.
To monitor progress, stakeholders will hold virtual meetings once every three months and physical meetings every six months. A new helpline will be set up to help self-help group members who face difficulties accessing bank loans.
What This Means for You
If you are a member of a rural self-help group or a woman entrepreneur seeking bank loans, the government says it will work to reduce delays in loan approval, simplify paperwork and raise credit limits. Bank officials will receive training to better understand the needs of women borrowers. The government has also stated that private banks must participate actively in district-level lending coordination meetings to ensure women entrepreneurs across all regions, especially poorer areas, receive fair access to credit.