India’s rural transformation is increasingly being shaped by an approach that goes beyond delivering government schemes to households and seeks to build strong community institutions, sustainable livelihoods and local entrepreneurship. The latest data presented by the government shows the scale of this effort, particularly through the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), which has emerged as a major platform for women-led rural development.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat places rural prosperity, women-led development and economic opportunity at the centre of the country’s development journey. The progress recorded under various rural programmes indicates an increasing emphasis on enabling people to become participants in economic growth rather than merely recipients of government assistance.
The scale of the Self-Help Group movement is significant. More than 10 crore rural households have been mobilised into around 92 lakh Self-Help Groups under DAY-NRLM. These institutions are supported by an extensive network of more than 9 lakh Community Resource Persons working in agriculture, livestock, fisheries, banking, insurance, enterprise development and social development.
The financial dimension is equally important. Cumulative credit disbursement to SHGs has crossed ₹13 lakh crore, while more than 50,548 Bank Sakhis are facilitating access to banking services in rural areas. Bank Sakhis have helped SHGs access ₹13.41 lakh crore in bank credit since 2013-14.
Perhaps the most visible expression of this transformation is the Lakhpati Didi initiative. More than 3.46 crore SHG members have been enabled to become Lakhpati Didis. The initiative seeks to ensure that women earn a sustainable annual income of at least ₹1 lakh, maintained over a defined period of agricultural seasons or business cycles. The government has now set a new target of creating 6 crore Lakhpati Didis.
This represents an important shift in the understanding of rural empowerment. A woman who becomes a trained entrepreneur, accesses formal credit, develops a marketable product or provides a local service can contribute directly to household income while also creating economic activity within her village.
The impact of DAY-NRLM is also reflected in independent evaluations cited by the Ministry of Rural Development. A 2025 impact evaluation covering around 23,000 households across nine states found that household incomes increased by 9.5 percent in NRLM blocks, while income gains in mature community institution clusters ranged from 12 percent to 33 percent. A separate evaluation commissioned through NITI Aayog covered 2,206 rural households across 11 states and two union territories and reported significant contributions to women’s empowerment, confidence and access to financial services.
The entrepreneurship component is another important part of the emerging rural economy. During 2023-24 to 2025-26, more than 53.8 lakh enterprises were supported under DAY-NRLM. Under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme, 4.32 lakh enterprises had been supported by June 2026. The government has also launched a national campaign on entrepreneurship aimed at training 50,000 community resource persons and providing enterprise-development training to 50 lakh SHG members.
The last-mile architecture supporting these initiatives is equally noteworthy. More than 10.40 lakh ASHAs and 10.58 lakh trained Anganwadi workers are working at the grassroots. Over 10.36 lakh sanitation functionaries and 36,342 master trainers have also been trained under the rural sanitation programme. These networks help convert policies and schemes into services that reach individual villages and households.
Agriculture and allied activities have also received a community-led push. More than 4.62 crore Mahila Kisans had been covered under farm-livelihood interventions by June 2025, supported by more than three lakh trained livelihood community resource persons. The network includes around 1.91 lakh Krishi Sakhis, 1.70 lakh Pashu Sakhis, nearly 2,993 Van Sakhis and more than 2,012 Matsya Sakhis.
Another important dimension is financial literacy. During 2025-26, more than 3.81 crore women SHG members received financial literacy training covering savings, credit, insurance, pensions, enterprise financing and business correspondence. Such interventions can help rural families make greater use of formal financial systems and improve their capacity to manage and expand livelihoods.
The broader development record also shows the expansion of opportunities beyond traditional rural employment. Under the rural skills ecosystem, candidates trained under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana increased from 43,038 in 2014-15 to 18.45 lakh by August 2026, while placements increased from 21,446 to 12.35 lakh. The number of people registered on the e-Shram portal increased from 14.40 crore in December 2021 to 31.87 crore in August 2026.
The significance of these numbers lies not merely in their scale but in the changing architecture of rural development. The focus is increasingly on creating institutions within communities that can provide knowledge, financial access, skills, market connections and entrepreneurial opportunities.
This approach is closely aligned with Prime Minister Modi’s emphasis on women-led development and a Viksit Bharat. The government’s stated objective is no longer limited to improving access to basic amenities, it increasingly encompasses income generation, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and the creation of durable economic opportunities in rural India.
The journey, however, is ongoing. Converting millions of SHG members into sustainable entrepreneurs will require continued access to affordable credit, technology, markets, skills and reliable infrastructure. Ensuring that enterprises grow beyond subsistence levels and that income gains remain durable will be an important measure of the next phase of rural transformation.
India’s rural development story is therefore moving towards a broader idea of prosperity- one in which the village is not simply the last destination for government delivery but a potential centre of enterprise, innovation and economic activity. The expansion of SHGs, Lakhpati Didis, community cadres and rural enterprises provides a substantial institutional foundation for that transition.
