A major announcement was made by the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, during the Interim Budget 2024 presentation which represents the government’s vision to empower women in rural areas by way of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ Scheme. It all began as an initiative that aimed at reaching out to two crore women but the initiative, however, has taken such a scale of and has reached out to three crore women to ensure that the government touches of the rural Indian broadcast changes the socio-economic situation in the rural setting of India. Here in this article, we discuss the specifics of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme, its goals, parts, and also a background of women's power, in the general frame of reality of this country.

 Origins and Objectives

 The ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme was first conceived under the premiership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address from the Red Fort. The main objective is to empower women to light up micro-entrepreneurship which is self-sustained in minimal years resulting in annual profits of over one lakh rupees per household. Financial inclusion of rural households, for the primary target groups are women from SHGs.

 Four Key Components

 - Financial Inclusion: Such an initiative seeks to integrate the rural poor into the financial cycle and ensures that they receive credit and other financial facilities.

 - Social Mobilization: Centralizing to this initiative is the enhancement and endorsement of self-managed and financially viable community institutions within the poor rural populace.

 - Sustainable Livelihoods: The scheme seeks to generate viable income-generating alternatives, fostering female empowerment and fitting in with the country’s overall governing economic transformation objective.

 - Social Inclusion and Development: Focusing on convergence as a driving force of social development, the scheme seeks to have an all-inclusive impact on the people it serves.

Self-help organizations (SHGs) : way to Empower the Women People

 According to the Economic Survey 2022-23, the majority of the Indian population, or 65% live in the countryside; about 47% of which are dependent on agriculture as a means of making a living. The female workforce, which amounts to over 75 percent of rural agriculture, is a vital part of the nation’s social and economic structures. SHGs have turned out to be the servants of change, specifically during the COVID-19 crunch, making women more autonomous in terms of finances.

 Finance Minister Sitharaman thus recognized the critical value of SHGs in her Budget speech where she had this to say, “83 lakh Self Help Groups with nine crore women are revolutionizing the rural social economic spheres with empowerment and self-sufficiency. Their success has helped thousand crore women to become lakhpati didis already.”

 Development and Networking of the Scheme

 The success of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ model also partly stems from the organized monthly camps where women in these communities – particularly, those with low incomes – can access qualified women professionals who offer them loans. Witnessing this success, she went ahead and increased the target for the scheme from two crore women to 3 crore women.

 Sitharaman’s vision statement was “In a village, you find bank-wali didi, Anganwadi didi, and dawai-wali didi the total number of didis should cross three crore lakhpatis.” This expansion indicates that the government intends not only money digitization of poor women as a monad but also overall economic betterment of

 Giving Emphasis To The Government’s Other Women Empowerment Beyond Giving ‘Lakhpati Did’

 In her budget speech, Sitharaman threw light upon several initiatives taken by the government to women-proof sectors with equal opportunities as well as empowerment. The minister of finances highlighted the positive aspect of Indian women’s participation in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) areas as a 28% increase in women’s enrollment in higher education during the last decade.

She also underlined important measures like making ‘Triple Talaq’ illegal, setting aside an allocation of 1/3rd seats in the Lok Sabha and State legislative assemblies for women, and assuming ownership of majority houses among women under PM Awas Yojana in rural areas. Moreover, the government's intention to promote cervical cancer vaccinations for girls aged nine to fourteen years also reiterates an extensive treatment plan for female well–being.

 Expert Opinions and Expectations

 Recent views of women empowerment and entrepreneurship practitioners on the budget announcements have been noted. Rosemoore Director Ridhima Kansal supported the initiative taken by the government to financially equip the women and also challenged the coherence of the government’s actions in dealing with challenges arising from the urban work environment. If the scheme increases its limit this could be a boon for new women entrepreneurs and an idea of women empowerment can be seen. Mamta Shekhawat founder/Gradding.com extoled the rise in the amount would be a privilege for further e new women entrepreneurs and set an idea of women empowerment.

 The Lakhpati Didi program which seeks to enhance the financial power of rural females with a focus on skills has a notable contribution to inclusive development. The government’s continued motive to reach out to three crore women with the scheme attests to the willpower to avert altering the lives of rural communities positively. However, the statement includes a larger program of women's freedom, apart from the scheme it demonstrates educational, health, and parliamentary steps.

 With the development of the country, the focus on the empowerment of women as well as other significant segments of society is important. With its multidimensional approach, the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme is sheer to not only reshape the socio-economic picture of rural India but also become the catalyst for that process. The journey towards becoming an equitable and empowered populace will continue; not forgetting the government’s sole aim of addressing the needs and aspirations of the underprivileged, the women in distress, the youth, and the farmer. It is for this reason that ‘Lakhpati Didi’ becomes the star of the future.