Three-day national consultative workshop on SHE-LiFE begins in Srinagar; 10.05 crore women mobilised into over 94 lakh SHGs under DAY-NRLM
SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 22: The Ministry of Rural Development is working to build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem to help rural women move beyond subsistence livelihoods and emerge as business owners, Director Rural Livelihoods-I, DAY-NRLM, Dr Rajeshwari S.M., said on Tuesday.
She was speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day National Consultative Workshop on SHE-LiFE—Self-Help Entrepreneurs in Livestock and Farm Enterprises—at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Srinagar.
Hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) under DAY-NRLM, the workshop brings together NRLM officers, representatives of State Rural Livelihoods Missions from 28 States, members of the National Mission Management Unit and other stakeholders.
The consultation will contribute to the formulation of guidelines for promoting women-led livestock and farm enterprises across rural India.
10.05 crore women mobilised into SHGs
Highlighting the scale of DAY-NRLM, Dr Rajeshwari said 10.05 crore women had been mobilised into more than 94 lakh Self-Help Groups, which have been federated into over five lakh Village Organisations and more than 34,000 Cluster-Level Federations.
She said the institutional network had facilitated more than ₹13.76 lakh crore in bank credit while maintaining a non-performing asset rate of below two per cent. More than ₹66,000 crore has also been extended as capitalisation support.
Dr Rajeshwari further said 5.2 crore Mahila Kisans and more than 87 lakh women-led enterprises were already part of the rural livelihoods ecosystem.
Under DAY-NRLM’s Vision 2031, she said, the Mission aims to transform rural households into enterprising drivers of prosperity through six key pillars—finance, skilling, mentorship, market access, technology and business support.
She said DAY-NRLM must act as an effective bridge connecting rural women with institutional finance, markets, technology and government support to help them establish sustainable and competitive enterprises.
SHE-LiFE framework proposed for 2026–31
Raman Wadhwa, Deputy Director, NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development, presented the proposed framework of SHE-LiFE, envisioned for implementation from 2026 to 2031.
He said the initiative seeks to enable rural women to move from participation in livelihood activities to ownership of formal, market-linked and climate-resilient enterprises in livestock and dairy, agriculture and allied activities, and fisheries and aquaculture.
The initiative would draw on DAY-NRLM’s grassroots network of 10.05 crore women associated with SHGs, five crore Mahila Kisans, more than two lakh producer groups and 50 lakh women organised into different collectives, he said.
The proposed framework envisages a transparent, application- and portal-based selection mechanism, a structured five-phase capacity-building programme, bank credit support for project costs and convergence with schemes of various ministries and institutions.
These include the National Livestock Mission, PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, NABARD and MUDRA.
Wadhwa said a dedicated digital system would track an entrepreneur’s journey from selection and training to financing, enterprise launch and market linkage.
JKRLM stresses shift towards enterprise ownership
Mission Director JKRLM Dr Shubhra Sharma said NRLM had evolved from mobilising women into SHGs towards developing sustainable, community-owned enterprises.
She described SHE-LiFE as a transition from basic livelihood support to structured enterprise development, with the initiative seeking to transform community cadres such as Krishi Sakhis and Pashu Sakhis into Udyog Sakhis and successful rural entrepreneurs.
Dr Sharma stressed the need for seamless convergence among government departments and financial institutions, saying the support ecosystem needed to function as an integrated unit to empower rural women as business owners.
She also called for lessons to be drawn from the experiences, challenges and successes of rural women entrepreneurs while finalising the SHE-LiFE guidelines.
Kashmir women entrepreneurs share experiences
The first day of the workshop featured three panel discussions.
The first focused on identification and selection of eligible women entrepreneurs and the implementation framework for SHE-LiFE. The second examined proposed financial and funding processes, including application procedures, assistance structures and allocation mechanisms.
The third featured an entrepreneurship plenary where women entrepreneurs from different districts of Kashmir shared their experiences, initial challenges, operational achievements and the turning points that helped transform their livelihood activities into enterprises.
The three-day consultation, being held from September 22 to 24, will seek recommendations from participating States, Union Territories, domain experts and field practitioners to develop comprehensive and implementable guidelines for SHE-LiFE.
