SBI and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana Join Hands to Empower Rural Women Entrepreneurs

New Delhi: In a landmark move aimed at empowering rural women entrepreneurs, the Additional Secretary of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Shri Charanjit Singh, and Chief General Manager of State Bank of India (SBI), Shri Shantanu Pendsey, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. The collaboration seeks to facilitate enterprise financing for Self-Help Group (SHG) women in rural areas.

Terming it a significant step forward, Shri Charanjit Singh highlighted the aim of creating Two Crore Lakhpati Didis from SHG women, aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

As part of this initiative, State Bank of India introduces a specialized financial product, “Svyam Siddha,” exclusively tailored for SHG women entrepreneurs seeking loans up to Rs. 5 lakhs. The product addresses challenges associated with extensive documentation requirements for bank loan applications and aims to reduce the Turn Around Time (TAT). Notably, the cumbersome need for documents like quotations and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) has been eliminated, streamlining the application process. SHG women can now submit a straightforward loan application with KYC details at local SBI bank branches. DAY-NRLM will facilitate the application process and oversee loan repayment through its dedicated field cadre.

Simultaneously, a training toolkit package was launched at the event, promoting access to formal finance for SHG women entrepreneurs. This marks a significant milestone in DAY-NRLM’s commitment to empowering communities and advancing financial inclusion at the grassroots level. The toolkit covers essential topics such as banking fundamentals, financial statement concepts, and working capital calculations. Key modules of the toolkit have been transformed into animated videos for self-capacity building of entrepreneurs. Developed in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank-funded National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP), this toolkit aims to enhance the capacities of State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs), facilitating increased access to formal finance by SHG members for their economic enterprises.

The MoU signing event witnessed the presence of key officials, including Director of Rural Livelihoods, MoRD Shri Raghvendra Pratap Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Head of Agriculture, SME, and Financial Inclusion of State Bank of India Shri Surendra Ran, along with representatives from NMMU, The World Bank, and the IFC. The collaboration stands as a testament to the collective commitment to fostering financial empowerment and economic sustainability in rural India.