The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a National Campaign on Entrepreneurship under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). The initiative aims to strengthen non-farm rural livelihoods by building enterprise skills among Self-Help Group (SHG) women and expanding the cadre of community resource persons (CRPs) who support grassroots entrepreneurship.
Objective of the Campaign
The campaign seeks to promote diversified and sustainable livelihoods in rural areas. It focuses on enterprise creation, start-up support, mentoring and handholding for SHG members. The larger goal is to help rural women move towards higher and more stable incomes through non-farm economic activities.
Training Targets
The campaign has set two major targets:
- Training and capacity building of 50,000 community resource persons on enterprise promotion.
- Providing enterprise development programme (EDP) training to 50 lakh SHG members under DAY-NRLM.
These trained cadres are expected to identify viable business ideas, support start-ups and guide women entrepreneurs through the early stages of enterprise development.
Link with Lakhpati Didi Goal
The campaign supports the government’s target of enabling at least 3 crore Lakhpati Didis, meaning SHG women earning ₹1 lakh or more annually. Achieving this scale requires a much larger network of trained community cadres. The campaign is designed to create that support system across rural India.
Institutional Support and Expected Impact
The launch involved participation from institutions such as NITI Aayog, NABARD, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFMR LEAD, EDII and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, along with State Rural Livelihood Missions. The initiative is expected to deepen rural enterprise development, improve access to formal finance and strengthen a resilient, inclusive non-farm rural economy.
Last Modified: April 26, 2026