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The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) on May 14-15, organised a two-day national consultation in Bhubaneswar to develop an operational roadmap for SHE-MARTs, a women-led rural marketing ecosystem aimed at strengthening enterprise development and market access under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

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The consultation brought together State Mission Directors, senior officials from State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs), NABARD representatives, financial institutions, sector experts and development practitioners to deliberate on implementation frameworks, financing models, governance structures and convergence mechanisms for the initiative.

A Community-Owned Enterprise Model

Addressing the inaugural session virtually, T. K. Anil Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, said, "The future of DAY-NRLM lies in enterprise development and market integration. He underlined that SHE-MARTs should emerge as community-owned retail and aggregation systems led by women's collectives rather than subsidy-driven institutional models."

Developing a Practical Framework

Swati Sharma, Joint Secretary, MoRD, said, "This national consultation is intended to function as a working platform where States/UTs could critically examine the draft framework, identify implementation gaps, and propose practical alternatives for large-scale rollout."

Strengthening Women-Led Rural Enterprises

Officials also highlighted convergence opportunities, institutional architecture, and implementation strategies for strengthening women-led rural enterprises and market systems. Across discussions, participants emphasised that SHE-MARTs should function as decentralized, professionally managed yet women-led and community-owned enterprise ecosystems, rather than subsidy-dependent retail structures.

Creating 'Lakhpati Didis'

The ministry reiterated its commitment to support the creation of 3 crore additional Lakhpati Didis by 2029, with SHE-MARTs envisioned as a key platform to enhance income generation, branding and market access for women-led producer collectives across the country. (ANI)