'Lakhpati Didi' initiative: PM Modi holds key meet to review women welfare schemes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 10, chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress made in realising his dream of making 2 crore 'Lakhpati Didis' in India. During his Independence Day speech on August 15, PM Modi had promised about making 2 crore women engaged in self-help groups (SHGs) or Anganwadis ‘Lakhpatis’.

During the meeting, the PM took stock of the various livelihood interventions planned to achieve this target. 

What promises did PM Modi make in his Independence Day speech?

PM Modi, in his 2023 Independence Day speech, spoke about equipping 15,000 women Self Help Groups with drones for agriculture and related purposes. 

In Tuesday's meeting, he was given an overview of the plans to implement this, ranging from training of Women SHGs to monitoring of activity.

He had also promised about taking the number of Jan Aushadhi Stores, which currently are about 1,000 in India, to 25,000 to increase the reach of affordable medicines. At the meeting, the PM reviewed the implementation strategy for this expansion.

PM Modi's dream to make ‘Lakhpati Didis’

As part of his plan to empower women, PM Modi said that he has a dream of making "two crore 'Lakhpati Didis' in the country." 

He also said that around 10 crore women today are associated with SHGs and around 15,000 women will soon be trained under a central scheme to use drones for agriculture. 

Earlier in March this year, the Ministry of Rural Development today signed an MoU with the Ministry of Ayush to impart the required skills to the women and make 'Lakhpati Didis' from the SHGs.