The National SARAS Mela 2026 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, is showcasing women entrepreneurs from self-help groups (SHGs) who have built enterprises with annual turnovers ranging from ₹60 lakh to over ₹1 crore. The mela marks the first National SARAS Mela to be organised outside the Delhi-NCR region and provides a platform for rural women to showcase their businesses, traditional crafts and journeys towards financial independence.
Organised by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, in collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the event is supported by NABARD, NIRDPR and Kudumbashree.
The stories of these women highlight how skills, access to finance, collective support and market opportunities have helped them establish and expand their enterprises.
Lakhpati Didi Initiative
A Lakhpati Didi is a woman from an SHG household with a sustainable annual household income of at least ₹1 lakh. This milestone is at the centre of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of six crore Lakhpati Didis by 2029. Under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), skills, finance and market access help women build sustainable incomes.
Chandrakala: Woodcarving Enterprise with Annual Turnover of Over ₹1 Crore
Chandrakala of Lotus SHG, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, took charge of her family’s woodcarving workshop after her husband passed away in 2007. The workshop had been established in 2002 by her family, which came from a farming background.
With support from Lotus SHG, she expanded her market through exhibitions and trade fairs in Chennai, Mumbai, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Delhi. Her enterprise now reports an annual turnover of over ₹1 crore, pays GST of approximately 10 lacs per month and provides employment to 100 + members, according to a press release by the Ministry of Rural Development.
She supplies her products through Lepakshi emporium showroom to many other cities. Her products are also being procured for gifting to ministers and celebrities.
“I want to take this business forward and create work for 500 rural women. That is how I hope to carry this legacy ahead.”
Siddhi: Building an Ethnic Wear Business Through Social Media
Siddhi of Mahamaya SHG, North Goa, began building an ethnic wear business through Instagram four years ago, after completing a diploma in Fashion designing. She funded the venture herself, while Mahamaya SHG helped her connect with women who could work with her and guided her on where to seek loans.
She now runs her own boutique with a team of approximately seven to ten people, including women she has trained. The team handles tailoring, stitching, sourcing materials, packing and participation in exhibitions. Siddhi manages marketing through social media and her website blissbysiddhi.in, and sends orders received through Instagram to customers overseas through India Post, including Singapore, the UAE and the USA and many more countries.
Her business reports an annual turnover of ₹60 lakh.
“I wish to help more and more ladies come join my team ,” she says. Over the next few years, she hopes to create work for around 100 more women across Goa and help them become financially independent.
Kunwari Barwa: Ragi Enterprise with Women Farmers
Kunwari Barwa of Mahila Vikas Mandal Baghima Palkot FPO, Gumla, Jharkhand, began her journey through a self-help group in her village, where women started by saving ₹2 each. She encouraged other women to join and took a loan from the pooled savings to buy a cow. Later, bank-linked credit helped her purchase equipment for vegetable cultivation. Growing and selling her produce gave her a way to support her family and pay for her children’s education.
In 2022, the groups formed a farmer producer organisation (FPO) with 381 members. Kunwari says its membership has since grown to 1,501. The collective helps farmers cultivate ragi, collects and stores the harvest, and makes ragi laddoos, thekua and savoury snacks.
Their products, initially sold from small tables in Gumla, have reached fairs in Delhi, Hyderabad and other cities. She puts the collective’s monthly product sales at around ₹6–7 lakh.
The enterprise provides regular work for over 150 women and brings in more workers when orders increase.
“Some of our women had never even seen a railway line. Now we travel by train and even by plane,” she says.
Singampalli Parwathi: Cashew-Processing Business with ₹50 Lakh Turnover
Singampalli Parwathi W/0 RamiNaidu of Sri Durga Bhavani Farmer Producer Group, Anakapalli (D), Andhra Pradesh, began her entrepreneurial journey in Natavaram village, where her family relied on a small farm, two dairy buffaloes and her husband’s daily-wage earnings. While these sources provided some income, they were often insufficient to meet household expenses and unexpected financial needs.
In 2018, Parwathi joined the Sri Durga Bhavani Farmer Producer Group and accessed a loan of ₹20,000 to begin buying and selling raw cashew nuts. The following year, a further loan of ₹50,000 enabled her to purchase two cutting machines and start processing cashew nuts to extract kernels, which she sold to traders in Tuni.
Later, a loan of ₹2 lakh from the group, combined with ₹3 lakh in bank financing under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), helped her establish a larger cashew-processing unit.
Parwathi now processes cashews into 11 different grades, supplies customers across the country and participates in exhibitions to showcase and sell her products. Her enterprise has grown to an annual turnover of approximately ₹50 lakh.
National SARAS Mela Continues Till 31 October
The Lakhpati Didi Pavilion at the mela showcases women’s journeys from skills and collective participation to enterprise, market access and sustainable income. The stories of Chandrakala, Siddhi, Kunwari Barwa and Singampalli Parwathi are represented beneath the 16-foot installation “SHAKTI – The Spirit of Lakhpati Didi”.
In her address at the inauguration, the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, encouraged women to build and grow their enterprises further, beyond the Lakhpati milestone. She also pointed to women’s control over their income and assets as a measure of empowerment, alongside their participation in economic activity. She noted that SARAS Melas would be organised every year in different states, giving rural women more opportunities to showcase and sell their products, reach new customers directly and strengthen their financial independence.
The First National SARAS Mela continues till 31 October at Punnami Ghat, Vijayawada, open daily from 11:00 am to 9:30 pm.
-PIB Inputs
