Rural Development plans 700 'SHE-MARTs' and 1,000 fulfilment centres to power 6 crore Lakhpati Didis

To give women's self-help groups durable market access, the Ministry is building community-owned retail, district fulfilment centres and ONDC tie-ups under DAY-NRLM — turning livelihoods into professionally run, women-owned enterprises.

What happened

• The Department of Rural Development reviewed marketing initiatives under DAY-NRLM, with Secretary Shri Rohit Kansal calling for stronger market access for women-led enterprises to help create 6 crore 'Lakhpati Didis'.
• The meeting was informed of a proposal to establish 700 SHE-MARTs, 1,000 District Fulfilment Centres and Centres of Excellence, along with strengthening State-Level Federations to promote Self-Help Group (SHG)-led enterprises.
• The strategy aims to build a robust, integrated marketing ecosystem so rural women producers can transition from livelihood generation to ownership of professionally managed, community-owned enterprises with sustained access to organised markets.
• Discussions covered community-owned retail systems, a unified national marketing identity, digital commerce platforms (ONDC), flagship retail infrastructure and financial inclusion.
• SHE-MARTs are to be set up in high-potential commercial locations with strong backward and forward market linkages, ensuring sustainable market access for SHG products; the Secretary directed a comprehensive annual calendar of activities.

For Prelims

• DAY-NRLM: Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (Ministry of Rural Development) — mobilises rural poor women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations, with credit, capacity-building and livelihood support. (Urban counterpart: DAY-NULM.)
• Lakhpati Didi: A scheme target to enable SHG women to earn a sustainable annual household income of at least ₹1 lakh; the target was scaled to 3 crore and is now articulated as 6 crore Lakhpati Didis.
• Self-Help Groups (SHGs): Small voluntary savings-and-credit groups (mostly women); they access bank credit via SHG-Bank Linkage and the Community Investment Fund — a model of financial inclusion and women's empowerment.
• ONDC: The Open Network for Digital Commerce — an open protocol to democratise e-commerce; SHG products onboarded onto ONDC gain digital-market access beyond local mandis.
• Backward & forward linkages: 'Backward' linkages connect to inputs/raw materials; 'forward' linkages connect to markets/buyers — both needed for enterprise viability.
• Allied 'Didi' interventions: DAY-NRLM also runs livelihood programmes like Namo Drone Didi, Bank Sakhi and Business Correspondent Sakhi that diversify rural women's incomes.
• Don't confuse: 'Lakhpati Didi' is an income target/outcome under DAY-NRLM, not a standalone ministry scheme; SHE-MARTs are proposed retail infrastructure for SHG market access, distinct from the SHGs themselves.

For Mains

Syllabus: GS2.12 · GS2.11 · Linkage L1