Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be having dialogue with Lakhpati Didis from Madhya Pradesh. He will also honour them at a grand function at Jalgaon (Maharashtra) on August 25. Five Lakhpati Didis from Madhya Pradesh have reached Jalgaon to attend the program. Prime Minister Modi will give certificates of honour to them.
It is noteworthy to mention here that after the central government's target of making Lakhpati Didis in 100 days, as many as 96,240 members of women's Self Help Groups in Madhya Pradesh have become Lakhpati Didis. They have received financial assistance, market support, and technical support from the Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission. In order to expand the reach of self-help group products to major markets, online marketing is being encouraged through digital platforms.
Approximately five lakh women’s self-help groups operative in Madhya Pradesh have nearly 62 lakh poor families from villages associated with them. Their socio-economic empowerment is at pace. The women self-help group members have been identified as Community Resource Persons who find out the members having potential to become Lakhpati Didis. Minister for Rural Development Minister Prahlad Patel has said that the Lakhpati Didis are valuable assets for the state. They will give all the requisite support in their economic pursuits.
Sangeeta Malviya from Sehore district and Kamini Sharma from Guna district will have dialogue with Prime Minister Modi. Lakshmi Tirke from Chhindwara district and Smt. Roshni Lodhi from Dewas district will also be there.
After the program at Jalgaon, similar events will be organized at the Cluster Level Federation (CLF) in Madhya Pradesh, where all CLF Lakhpati Didis will be awarded certificates. Women’s self-help groups across the state will receive approximately Rs. 110 crores bank loans (CCL) and about Rs. 171 crores as Community Investment Fund.
Ganga Ahirwar from Mohalpur village in Guna district has achieved remarkable success at the young age of 28. About 7 years ago, she formed the Uma Self-Help Group with 44 women. Through this, she set up a canteen in the district Collectorate premises in 2019, using the income from snacks and tea to meet household expenses.
Selected as a potential Lakhpati Didis under the Government of India’s 100-day plan, Ganga didi has been operating the canteen in the Collectorate premises since 2019, having daily sales of Rs. 800 from tea and snacks. Having received training from IHM Bhopal, she expanded her business to include meals and tiffin services. Later, she started dining facility, which led to monthly savings of Rs. 15-20 thousand. Ganga Didi now consistently earns around Rs. 15-20 thousand monthly from her canteen, advanced agricultural work, fruit cultivation, and tailoring. All this placed her in the category of Lakhpati Didi.
Roshni Lodhi from Kajliwan village in the Bagli block of Dewas district was helping her in-laws in farming activity. Due to poor economic condition, her family used to borrow money from nearby villages. In 2019, Roshni Lodhi formed a self-help group. Initially, she saved Rs. 20 per week and started meeting household needs through group loans. Roshni formed 50 self-help groups with 600 women as members from neighboring villages and encouraged them to start livelihood activities, earning some income as an active Community Resource Person. Through the self-help group, Roshni received training as a Bank BC and started working as a Bank BC by taking a loan of 50 thousand rupees from the village organization to purchase a computer and printer. She began a sewing school uniform with her in-laws and husband, also involving other village women. During the group formation, she was selected as a bank sakhi for bank-related works.
