By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Meet Vandana Bharadwaj from Mohali, Punjab, who has put up a stall at Delhi’s Sunder Nursery to showcase her Phulkari fabrics. Bhardwaj’s vibrant embroidery may be shimmering under the winter sun, but it was her journey that sparkled brighter.
She began her journey in 2018 as one of ten women in a small SHG, stitching Phulkari at home while managing household responsibilities. Her leadership soon stood out. First, she headed 19 SHGs in her village organisation and later as the anchor for a growing network of women who trusted her guidance. Today, Vandana leads over 500 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across 25 villages, a community enterprise larger than many formal institutions.
Her stall at the Saras Food Festival 2025 showcased not just handcrafted products but also the collective progress and empowerment of women.
Vandana didi explains, “The government supported us at every step.” We received sewing machines and Rs. 30,000 as working capital from the Ministry of Rural Development. These interventions helped us transform Phulkari stitching into a real enterprise. Under her leadership, rural women now produce a diverse range of items, including sweaters, school uniforms, and especially high-quality Phulkari fabrics. Their craftsmanship is so refined that government departments purchase their phulkari products to present to national and foreign dignitaries. The government also procures its goods to export to other countries.
Across Sunder Nursery, the same spirit reverberated through every lane of the Saras Food Festival 2025. Nearly 300 Lakhpati Didis and SHG entrepreneurs from 25 states had arrived, bringing more than 500 dishes and dozens of handcrafted products, transforming Delhi into a living map of India. The air carried the scent of dal baati churma, Malabar biryani, Himachali siddu, and tandoor tea, but behind each aroma was a woman with a story as layered as her recipe.
Just across from Vandana didi’s stall, a member from Maa SHG from Odisha had set up her handloom display. Having joined the SHG in 2019, she transitioned from local sales to operating her own shop and supplying products to retailers
A few stalls away, Preeti Sahu was serving Andhra-style delicacies while simultaneously managing orders for her Raj Bihan Canteen in her home district. Having joined her self-help groups (SHG) in 2012 with 10-15 women, she accessed affordable credit through banks and village-level institutions, enabling her to expand her enterprise. She now earns over Rs. 50,000 per month, with her sales at Saras Mela typically reaching Rs. 2–2.5 lakh
Collectively, these narratives reflect the broader impact of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which has long supported women’s entrepreneurship through SHGs, credit linkages, capacity-building programmes, and national-level marketing platforms. The mission has facilitated the emergence of over 2 crore “Lakhpati Didis,” with a targeted increase of 2.5 crore in FY 2024–25. Equally transformative is the digital empowerment that these women have achieved. Tools such as BHASHINI have addressed linguistic constraints, while UPI-based payments have promoted financial inclusion, together strengthening women’s confidence and autonomy in economic activities.