SRINAGAR: As many as 96,498 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have been promoted under the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM), while more than 2.7 lakh women associated with the programme have been identified as “Lakhpati Didis” across the Union Territory, according to figures placed before the J&K Assembly.
The figures were disclosed by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in response to a starred question by Pirzada Farooq Ahmad Shah, MLA Gulmarg, seeking details of SHGs, their income-generating activities, financial sustainability and market linkages.
The government said the 96,498 SHGs are active, with the highest numbers reported in Kupwara (8,267), Jammu (7,903), Baramulla (7,901), Anantnag (7,368), Rajouri (7,198) and Kathua (6,341).
JKRLM has also facilitated the registration of 288 Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) out of 652 formed so far. The remaining federations are in the process of registration with the Department of Cooperatives.
The highest number of registered CLFs is in Baramulla, with 33, followed by Kathua with 30, Doda with 29, Anantnag with 26 and Udhampur with 23, according to the government data.
The government clarified that SHGs under JKRLM primarily function as community-based institutions for financial inclusion, savings, internal lending and access to institutional support, rather than necessarily undertaking businesses collectively.
It said individual members of SHGs pursue different livelihood activities according to their skills, interests, resources and local market opportunities, and a single member may undertake more than one income-generating activity.
Where members have common commodities or business interests, they can form producer collectives. The government said SHG members have so far formed 249 Farm Producer Groups (FPGs) and 12 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to improve aggregation, market access and collective economic activity.
Pulwama has the highest number of FPGs at 49, followed by Jammu with 42 and Baramulla with 22. Anantnag has 11 FPGs and two FPOs, while Kupwara has 15 FPGs and two FPOs.
On financial sustainability, the government said JKRLM provides Mission Revolving Fund as a grant to inculcate the practice of lending and repayment, while the Community Investment Fund (CIF) is provided as a loan at 1 per cent per month. SHGs are also credit-linked with financial institutions, with loans subsequently distributed among members for investment in their livelihoods.
The scale of institutional credit provided to SHGs is reflected in the department’s figures. 72,903 SHGs have received the first credit-linked dose involving Rs 92,021 lakh, while 41,990 SHGs have received a second dose involving Rs 98,929 lakh.
A third credit-linked dose has reached 20,733 SHGs, involving Rs 81,022 lakh, while 7,875 SHGs have received a fourth dose amounting to Rs 49,321 lakh. Another 2,424 SHGs have received a fifth dose involving Rs 23,536 lakh.
The department, however, did not provide a separate average annual turnover figure for financially self-sustaining SHGs, instead directing the Assembly to its response under the first part of the question and detailing the credit-linkage mechanism.
The most striking indicator of women’s economic activity provided in the reply is the number of Lakhpati Didis identified across districts.
According to the government, Baramulla has 21,651 Lakhpati Didis, followed by Kupwara with 21,842, Jammu with 20,778 and Anantnag with 18,245. Budgam has 16,165, Rajouri 15,302, Kathua 14,715 and Udhampur 14,278.
Other district figures include Pulwama 10,036, Samba 10,126, Reasi 9,153, Doda 8,974, Poonch 8,014, Ramban 7,804, Ganderbal 6,241, Shopian 5,713, Kishtwar 5,665, Srinagar 1,730 and Kulgam 1,100.
The figures, when aggregated, amount to more than 2.7 lakh women identified as Lakhpati Didis under the JKRLM framework.
The Mission said it is pursuing several measures to strengthen the market access and earning potential of SHG members. These include credit linkage with financial institutions, participation in SARAS fairs across the country and departmental exhibitions within J&K, and physical retail platforms such as Umeed Women Haat and AVSAR.
The government said potential enterprises are also being linked with the PMFME scheme for value addition, while JKRLM is facilitating online onboarding of SHG products and helping members obtain registrations such as Udyam and FSSAI.
The Mission also provides handholding for enterprise development and organises buyer-seller meets to enable SHG members to showcase products and establish direct connections with potential buyers.
Another initiative under consideration is an MoU with the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP). The government said this would provide technical support for improved packaging, product presentation and marketability of goods produced by SHG members, with the aim of improving their competitiveness and market reach.
