The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), through the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), today signed a Non-Financial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Project Concern International (PCI) India to strengthen women-led enterprises (WLEs), particularly Self-Help Group (SHG)-led enterprises, through public procurement and market-linked enterprise development.

The MoU signing ceremony was held under the chairpersonship of Shri Rohit Kansal, Secretary, Department of Rural Development. The MoU was signed and exchanged between Ms. Swati Sharma, Joint Secretary (Rural Livelihoods), Ministry of Rural Development, and Mr. Indrajit Chaudhuri, CEO & Country Director, PCI India.

The MoU formalises the collaboration initiated in 2022 under the initiative “Leveraging Public Procurement for Women’s Economic Empowerment”. The partnership seeks to enhance the participation of women-led and SHG enterprises in government and institutional procurement through enterprise readiness, capacity building and market linkages.

A key component of the three year partnership (2026-2029) is the proposed establishment of a National Resource Cell (NRC)/Public Procurement and Business Model Support Cell within DAY-NRLM, with technical support from PCI India. The Cell will provide strategic and operational support to strengthen procurement-linked enterprise ecosystems across SRLMs.

The partnership will support the development of enterprise incubation frameworks, SOPs, operational toolkits and standardised capacity-building modules. It will also facilitate training and handholding of SRLM teams and SHG enterprises on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) onboarding, tender participation, quality standards, documentation and procurement compliance. The collaboration will further explore and promote sustainable enterprise models through renewable energy integration, sustainable production practices and convergence with relevant government agencies.

During FY 2026–27, focused technical assistance is proposed initially in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while enabling wider engagement with other States. National technical learning sessions, cross-State knowledge-sharing, enterprise opportunity mapping and development of scalable procurement-linked business models will also be undertaken.

The MoU marks an important step towards institutionalising technical support for enabling SHG enterprises to access public procurement markets, build sustainable and scalable businesses and advance women's economic empowerment. The partnership is aligned with the objectives of DAY-NRLM and the vision of making of 6 crore Lakhpati Didis through sustainable, enterprise-led and market-linked livelihoods.

The collaboration also contributes to the broader national goals of Viksit Bharat 2047, the Sustainable Development Goals and India's Net Zero aspirations by promoting inclusive, sustainable and market-oriented livelihood opportunities for rural women.

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RC/PU

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