Empowering Lakhpati Didis: Sitharaman Announces Community-Owned SHE Marts

In a significant push to elevate rural women from credit-supported livelihoods to full-fledged enterprise ownership, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of 'Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts' in her Union Budget 2026-27 speech presented in the Lok Sabha today. Building directly on the widely acclaimed success of the Lakhpati Didi scheme which has helped millions of women in self-help groups (SHGs) achieve annual household incomes of at least ₹1 lakh — the new initiative aims to create community-owned retail platforms that give women entrepreneurs greater control over markets, branding, and sustainable income streams.

Sitharaman described the proposal as the "next step" in the journey of SHG members: “I propose to help women take the next step from credit-linked livelihood to owners of enterprises.” She elaborated that SHE Marts will function as community-owned retail outlets established within cluster-level federations of SHGs, particularly in agro-allied and rural activity clusters. These marts will be supported by enhanced and innovative financing instruments to ensure scalability, easier access to capital, and long-term viability.

The move is part of a broader women-centric thrust in the Budget, which also includes commitments to girls’ hostels in every district to boost STEM education and reduce dropouts, alongside an 11% hike in the Gender Budget allocation to ₹5,00,878.73 crore. Experts view SHE Marts as a strategic evolution from micro-credit models (like those under NRLM/Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana) to asset-building and ownership-focused entrepreneurship. By providing dedicated retail spaces for SHG-produced goods — ranging from handicrafts, processed foods, and farm produce to eco-friendly products — the scheme seeks to address persistent challenges like limited market linkages, middlemen exploitation, and branding gaps that often cap income growth for rural women entrepreneurs.

Ownership and management of the SHE Marts will remain firmly with local SHG collectives and cluster federations, ensuring grassroots empowerment rather than top-down control. The initiative is expected to create assured markets for women-led products, foster brand development, and generate employment multipliers in rural economies. Implementation will likely involve convergence across ministries like Rural Development, Women & Child Development, and MSME, with innovative financing possibly drawing from priority sector lending, NABARD support, and new equity-like tools tailored for women-led ventures.

Reactions from women's rights groups and economists have been largely positive, hailing it as a forward-looking step toward economic resilience and gender equity in rural India. While details on rollout timelines, pilot locations, and exact funding outlays are awaited in the Budget documents, the announcement underscores the government's continued focus on women as drivers of inclusive growth transitioning them from beneficiaries to owners in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.