Itanagar, Sep 14: More than 16,000 women in Arunachal Pradesh have become 'Lakhpati Didi', with nearly one lakh women mobilised into 15,999 self-help groups, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein said on Monday.
Sharing the information in a social media post, Mein said the growing 'Lakhpati Didi' movement was creating new pathways for women to turn their skills, local resources and enterprise into sustainable livelihoods.
“When women earn, families gain greater security, communities become more resilient and local economies grow,” Mein said.
The 'Lakhpati Didi' initiative seeks to enable women associated with SHGs to achieve a sustainable annual household income of at least Rs 1 lakh through diversified livelihoods, entrepreneurship, skills, financial inclusion and convergence with government schemes.
According to the details shared by the Deputy Chief Minister, 16,000-plus women in the state have achieved 'Lakhpati Didi' status, while nearly one lakh women have been mobilised into 15,999 SHGs.
Another 36,000 potential 'Lakhpati Didis' have been identified, indicating a significant scope for expanding the initiative across the state, Mein said.
The state has also established 1,488 primary-level federations and 91 cluster-level federations (CLFs) to strengthen women-led community institutions and support SHG members in building sustainable livelihoods, he said.
Mein, who also holds the finance, planning and investment portfolios, said, “Our priority is to strengthen this momentum by connecting women with skills, finance, technology, markets and new livelihood opportunities, so that more women can move from economic participation to economic leadership,” the deputy chief minister said.
The government has set a target of building 30 Viksit (developed) CLFs by March 2027, aimed at developing stronger, self-reliant and sustainable women-led institutions, he said.
The latest figures are part of the state’s continuing efforts under the Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM) to promote women’s economic empowerment through SHGs and their federations, officials said.
The state's approach is aimed not only at increasing the number of women earning higher incomes but also at creating community institutions capable of supporting women entrepreneurs, facilitating access to markets and finance, and helping them take greater leadership roles, they said.
The broader objective, Mein said, is to build a stronger Arunachal Pradesh led by empowered women. (PTI)