Prime Highlights-
- MoRD signs a non-financial MoU with PCI India to boost women-led enterprises through public procurement.
- Partnership strengthens Self-Help Group enterprises under DAY-NRLM through market-linked development.
Key Facts-
- Three-year partnership from 2026 to 2029 proposes a National Resource Cell within DAY-NRLM.
- Initial technical assistance covers Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Background-
The Ministry of Rural Development has entered into a non-financial memorandum of understanding with Project Concern International India, aimed at giving women-led enterprises a stronger footing in public procurement and market-linked growth.
Signed under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the pact places particular emphasis on enterprises run by Self-Help Groups.
Rohit Kansal, Secretary, Department of Rural Development, chaired the signing ceremony. Swati Sharma, Joint Secretary for Rural Livelihoods at the Ministry, and Indrajit Chaudhuri, CEO and Country Director of PCI India, exchanged the document.
The pact builds on work the two sides began in 2022 under an initiative centred on using public procurement to advance women’s economic empowerment.
Through the tie-up, women-led and Self-Help Group enterprises are expected to gain wider access to government and institutional procurement, backed by enterprise readiness support, capacity building and stronger market connections.
The three-year arrangement, spanning 2026 to 2029, centres on a plan to set up a National Resource Cell within the mission, with PCI India providing technical backing. The cell is designed to guide procurement-linked enterprise ecosystems across state livelihood missions.
Under the partnership, incubation frameworks, standard operating procedures, toolkits and training modules will be rolled out for enterprises. State mission teams and Self-Help Group enterprises will also receive hands-on training covering registration on the Government e-Marketplace, tender participation, quality benchmarks and procurement compliance.
Beyond this, the collaboration will look at sustainable enterprise models built around renewable energy adoption and coordination with other government bodies.
For the upcoming financial year, technical support will first roll out in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, before extending to additional states.
The initiative feeds into the mission’s larger target of helping six crore women reach Lakhpati Didi status through market-linked, enterprise-driven livelihoods, while also supporting India’s broader Viksit Bharat 2047 and sustainability goals.
