Amit Shah Launches SHE Mart Initiative in Keralam

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated several National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF) initiatives in Kollam and Kundara, Keralam, on September 26, 2026. The central feature of the event was the launch of the SHE Mart initiative, a program from the 2026-27 Union Budget intended to transition rural women from credit seekers to enterprise owners by connecting self-help groups and rural entrepreneurs directly with consumers.

Shah announced that more than 300 SHE Mart stores will operate across Keralam, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, while local and Indian brand products will be available in over 2,500 NCCF retail outlets. The event also marked the start of affordable distribution of onions, Bharat Atta, and Bharat Rice via NCCF and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) mobile vans, alongside the awarding of NAFED Welfare Scholarship Scheme grants to daughters of farming families.

During the inauguration, Shah credited the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation as a major step toward rural and agricultural development. He highlighted government achievements in women's empowerment, noting that the female labor force share rose from 23 percent in 2014-15 to 40 percent and that nearly 36 crore women have opened bank accounts. Shah stated the government met its target of creating three crore Lakhpati Didis before 2024 and has set a new goal to reach six crore by 2029.