The Uttar Pradesh government’s Grameen Ajeevika Mission is transforming rural lives by empowering women to become self-reliant entrepreneurs, with visible impact across districts like Fatehpur.
Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, housewives associated with women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are building sustainable livelihoods through support under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
Rita Devi, a resident of Dagaraiya village in Fatehpur district’s Malwa development block, is one such success story. Coming from a marginal farming family and once living in a mud house, Rita joined the Grameen Ajeevika Mission in 2017 after learning about it from women in her village.
Fish Farming Fuels Empowerment
She went on to form the Jai Santoshi Maa Women’s Self-Help Group with 10 other women and secured a loan of ₹1.4 lakh from the Community Credit Linkage (CCL) fund. With this support, Rita started fish farming and now owns three ponds, earning between ₹15,000 and ₹20,000 per month. Her enterprise has also generated employment for 10 other women.
Rita later diversified her income by opening a beauty parlour and has since built a concrete house and sent her two children to Mumbai for higher education. With continued government support, she is now venturing into mushroom cultivation along with 12 other women.
SHGs Drive Rural Transformation
According to Mukesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner (Self-Employment), NRLM, a total of 18,344 women’s SHGs have been formed in Fatehpur district so far, covering nearly 1.95 lakh families. Officials say the mission has not only improved incomes but also inspired large-scale participation of rural women in self-employment initiatives.