The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched Swavalambini, a women entrepreneurship programme, in pilot mode across six higher education institutions and universities in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. The initiative is being implemented with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform as knowledge partner. It aims to build entrepreneurial skills among young women and support them in moving from ideas to enterprise creation.
Pilot Coverage And Objectives
Swavalambini is designed to encourage female students to view entrepreneurship as a career option. The programme targets 1,200 women students from participating institutions. It seeks to improve awareness of support systems, schemes, resources and networks needed to start and sustain a business.
Training And Mentorship Model
The programme follows a multi-stage structure.
- All 1,200 selected students will first undergo an Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme.
- From these, 600 students will be chosen for the Entrepreneurship Development Programme.
- The EDP will cover skilling, access to finance, market linkages, compliance, legal support, business services and networking.
- This will be followed by 21 weeks of mentorship and handholding support.
Industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs will guide participants during the mentoring phase. They will share practical business experience and help students refine their ideas into viable ventures.
Institutional Support And Funding
The programme is being executed through two autonomous institutes of MSDE – the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, Noida, and the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, Guwahati. The Ministry will oversee implementation, supervision and monitoring, while NITI Aayog will support workshops, mentoring, seed funding facilitation and recognition of successful entrepreneurs through the Award To Reward initiative.
Faculty Development And Monitoring
A Faculty Development Programme is also included to strengthen institutional support. Faculty members from participating institutions will undergo five-day training to better mentor aspiring women entrepreneurs. MSDE has allocated Rs 40,46,016 for training, with Rs 10,11,504 already released to the implementing institutes. A ministry-level monitoring and evaluation mechanism, in collaboration with NITI Aayog, will track outcomes. At present, there is no proposal to expand the pilot to Andhra Pradesh.
Last Modified: April 28, 2026