Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu wants SHG women to become entrepreneurs

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asked Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar and MSME Minister Kondapalli Srinivas to ensure that every Self-Help Group (SHG) woman member becomes an entrepreneur under the State government’s ‘One family, one entrepreneur’ initiative.

Mr. Naidu was speaking after inaugurating the SARAS Aajeevika Mela–2026, organised by the Sale of Articals of Rural Artisans Society, in Guntur on Thursday. The exhibition will be underway till January 18.

The exhibition, held for the first time outside Delhi, showcased products made by SHG women from across the country.

On the occasion, Mr. Naidu handed over a cheque for ₹1,375 crore from Stree Nidhi Credit Cooperative Federation Limited to the SHGs and sanctioned another ₹2,171 crore in loans through the SERP.

Mr. Naidu said the DWCRA and MEPMA SHG movements had created history at the national level. He recalled that DWCRA groups were established with the sole aim of ensuring economic self-reliance for women, and noted that consistent savings by women strengthened their financial stability.

Calling the SARAS Mela a “mini India,” he said the future belonged to women and stressed the need for branding traditional handicrafts and local food products.

Mr. Naidu said Andhra Pradesh had 80 lakh women in DWCRA groups and 24 lakh in MEPMA, who together mobilised nearly ₹26,000 crore. He urged the SHGs to focus on marketing and sales to enhance profits, noting that 93,000 women had already become micro and MSME entrepreneurs.

He also highlighted welfare initiatives such as Talliki Vandanam, Deepam-2, free RTC travel under Stree Shakti, and digital services through Mana Mitra WhatsApp.

Mr. Naidu later visited several stalls, interacted with artisans, tasted Madugula halwa, purchased a handloom saree for his wife Bhuvaneswari, and sanctioned ₹6 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to a woman potter whose husband was unwell.

Mr. Chandra Sekhar described the exhibition as a living testimony to the strength and leadership of rural women and credited Mr. Naidu for transforming the DWCRA movement into a national model.

Mr. Srinivas, local legislators, officials and SHG women from various States attended the programme.