Lakhpati Didi: Surat civic body to empower women

The SMC will identify urban poor women and provide them with training to help them become self-reliant through the Lakhpati Didi scheme, which is part of the Centre’s Urban Poverty Alleviation Mission. According to sources within the SMC, 25 cities across the country have been selected for the pilot.

Surat Deputy Municipal Commissioner Gayetri Jariwala told The Indian Express that a target of 5,000 women has been set for the pilot starting on April 1 as the civic body unveiled its plan in the municipal budget for 2025-26. “The beneficiaries of this scheme will be BPL card holders, women from economically weaker section households, Ayushman Bharat card holders, and others,” said Jariwala.

R C Patel, the head of Urban Community Development (UCD), said, “The beneficiaries will include women involved in making imitation jewellery, embellishing fabrics, making handicraft and house decoration items, making dry snacks, etc. In the earlier arrangement, multiple SHGs were given stalls at the Surat airport and railway station to sell their items.”

“This time, we will give it to one SHG for a couple of months, and later, another group gets a chance to sell their products. We also promote SHG products in Rakhi bazaar, Navratri Garba, and other festivals. The purpose is for common people to see and buy their products, and even SHGs will get new customers. If required, we will train SHGs and individuals to make their products more attractive and promote them at different levels,” Patel added.

Patel said they would make new SHGs part of the Lakhpati Didi scheme, and some of the old scheme beneficiaries will also be included. “Presently, we have started receiving the applications at our centres in Surat, which started a few days ago.”

Jariwala said they are also planning to start a women’s market in Surat city. “The women will be allotted shops controlled by them, where they will sell their products to customers. The shops will be given to the women on a token basis on rent. First, it will be started in a single zone, and later, seeing the responses, it will be expanded to other zones,” Jariwala said.

SMC Urban Community Development centres are located in nine municipal zones throughout the city. Officials have established separate offices in each zone specifically for beneficiaries of the Lakhpati Didi scheme. At these offices, beneficiaries can learn about the scheme’s details and collect their proposal forms. Once all necessary documents are obtained, the forms will be filled out online.

Revolving fund, bank loans

As part of this mission, SHGs and common interest groups (CIGs) will be established by a social mobilisation committee with a focus on empowering women and other beneficiaries. These groups will receive encouragement and support, including a revolving fund of Rs 25,000 for internal financing. Women beneficiaries in both urban and rural areas will be eligible for bank loans of up to Rs 4 lakh at an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum. These loans are intended for the establishment of self-employment units and can be repaid over a period of up to five years.

Under the earlier scheme, the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana under the National Urban Livelihood Mission, SHGs could receive a bank loan of up to Rs 2 lakh for starting or expanding a business. The interest rate ranged from 10 to 12 per cent per annum. Beneficiaries were required to pay 7 per cent of the interest, while the government covered the remaining amount. Approximately 4,000 women, including those from SHGs and individual beneficiaries, benefitted from this scheme.