Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday released ₹99.26 crore in interest subvention to 1,79,809 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) as part of its efforts to strengthen women’s financial capacity, expand livelihoods and promote women-led enterprises across the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida released the assistance at a programme held at Mission Shakti Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.
The government is also stepping up financial and institutional support to SHGs and their community-based federations with the broader objective of creating more livelihood opportunities and helping more women become Lakhpati Didis, officials said.
“Women are not merely beneficiaries of development; they are emerging as drivers of Odisha’s economic and social transformation. I am confident that Nari Shakti will lead the development journey of Odisha in the coming years,” Parida said.
The state government has made a budget provision of ₹575 crore for interest subvention to SHGs during 2026-27.
Earlier, on June 24, ₹147.77 crore had been released to 2,88,198 SHGs. With Monday’s release, the total interest subvention disbursed during the current financial year has reached ₹247.03 crore.
For 2026-27, the government has set a target of ₹20,000 crore in bank credit linkage for SHGs.
Officials said the combined support of bank credit, interest subvention and community funds would provide SHG members with greater access to capital for strengthening livelihoods and expanding enterprises.
Alongside the interest subvention, the government released another ₹151.28 crore under various community-based financial support mechanisms.
This includes:
Representatives of SHGs from different districts received cheques during the programme.
From Khordha, Maa Chanchelei SHG, Sai Ram SHG and Sai Unnati SHG received ₹38,927, ₹37,958 and ₹37,847 respectively towards interest subvention.
A total of ₹29.31 crore was released as Revolving Fund to 15,526 SHGs across 29 districts.
The beneficiaries included SHGs from Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Balangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khordha, Koraput, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Subarnapur and Sundargarh.
Representatives of Om Sai Ram and Hari Shankar SHGs from Cuttack and Sri Satya Sai and Vaibhav Laxmi SHGs from Jajpur received cheques of ₹30,000 each under the Revolving Fund component.
The government also released ₹113.80 crore to 371 Gram Panchayat-level Federations across 26 districts under the Community Investment Fund.
Representatives of Algum and Gadmotari Gram Panchayat-level Federations from Puri received cheques of ₹45 lakh and ₹35 lakh respectively.
Meanwhile, ₹8.18 crore was released to 605 Area Level Federations across 19 districts under the Vulnerability Reduction Fund.
Representatives of Gundadurisahi and Karadabani Area Level Federations from Ganjam received cheques of ₹1.50 lakh each.
The programme also saw the signing of two MoUs aimed at expanding opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
An MoU was signed with the Collective for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CINI) to promote and expand the Lakhpati Didi initiative.
Another agreement was signed with the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) to promote green entrepreneurship among women SHGs and encourage the adoption of renewable energy.
The partnership with OREDA is expected to support rural women in developing environmentally sustainable enterprises and building more sustainable sources of livelihood.
Officials said the initiatives would also enable women SHG members to play a greater role in the socio-economic development of their communities.
The programme was attended by Mission Shakti Commissioner-cum-Secretary Manasi Nimbhal, Mission Shakti Director Dr Monika Priyadarshini, Convenor of SLBC Odisha, senior government officials, representatives of banks and partner organisations, OREDA and CINI, along with district-level officials and SHG members who participated virtually from across Odisha.
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