The Ministry of Rural Development organised the National Conclave on Financial Literacy and Resilience on February 20, 2026 in Hyderabad, bringing together policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, State Rural Livelihood Missions and community leaders to deliberate on strengthening financial awareness, enhancing household resilience and advancing inclusive economic growth across rural India.
The Conclave featured thematic technical sessions focused on financial literacy, household-level financial resilience and expanding access to credit for livelihoods and enterprises. Participants emphasised the need for continuous financial education, deeper financial inclusion and stronger institutional convergence. Community-based institutions such as Self Help Groups and their federations were recognised as trusted and scalable platforms for delivering financial services and financial literacy interventions at the grassroots level.
On February 21, 2026, the 25th Central Level Coordination Committee Meeting was convened in Hyderabad, marking a significant step in strengthening policy dialogue and coordination across the rural financial ecosystem.
The meeting was chaired by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development and Chairperson of the Central Level Coordination Committee. It was attended by Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, and D. Anasuya Seethakka, Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Telangana.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Rural Development and the Government of Telangana participated, including Shailesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Rural Development; T. K. Anil Kumar, Additional Secretary; Smriti Sharan, Joint Secretary; and Swati Sharma, Joint Secretary. From the Government of Telangana, N. Shridhar, Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, and Divya Devrajan, Commissioner, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development and Chief Executive Officer, SERP Telangana, were present. Representatives from NABARD, RBI, banks, the Asian Development Bank and Self Help Group members from various States also attended.
The proceedings began with a recapitulation of key insights from the National Conclave, followed by a presentation on Strategic Insights of DAY NRLM and the Roadmap Ahead by Smriti Sharan.
Addressing representatives from banks, financial institutions, regulators and community resource persons including Bank Sakhis, BC Sakhis, Financial Literacy Community Resource Persons and Bima Sakhis, Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasised the importance of strengthening bank linkage for Self Help Groups and adopting a focused approach to support individual women entrepreneurs.
He stated that extending credit to Self Help Group women is not a risk but one of the safest investments for the nation. Highlighting the transformative potential of women-led enterprises, he expressed confidence that with collective support from all stakeholders, Didis can progress from Lakhpati to Crorepati, accelerating women-led rural transformation and contributing significantly to the vision of Viksit Bharat.
The Union Minister stressed the need to strengthen last-mile financial access, expand enterprise financing and improve risk protection mechanisms for rural households. He underscored that women-led rural transformation is emerging as a powerful driver of economic growth and social resilience.
During the event, three major national initiatives were launched: Individual Enterprise Bank Loan System for Self Help Group Members, UPI based Credit Lines for Self Help Group Members, and Digital Modules on Financial Literacy for Self Help Group Members. These initiatives aim to simplify credit delivery, promote digital finance adoption and strengthen financial capability among rural women.
Shailesh Kumar Singh highlighted the critical role of community institutions in driving financial inclusion, enterprise growth and economic resilience. He emphasised that structured convergence between banks, missions and community platforms is essential to scale impact.
Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani observed that India’s financial inclusion journey must now evolve into enterprise-led empowerment, shifting the focus from basic access to finance towards productive credit, enterprise promotion and sustained financial capability.
D. Anasuya Seethakka noted that while Telangana is the youngest State in the country, it has the oldest State Rural Livelihoods Mission. She expressed confidence that mission-led interventions would enable the women of Telangana to lead the next phase of enterprise creation and economic expansion.
The programme also recognised the contributions of financial institutions through awards for best-performing banks across public and private sectors, Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banking institutions.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment among stakeholders to strengthen convergence, promote financial innovation and accelerate inclusive growth across rural India, reinforcing the role of Self Help Groups as a cornerstone of women-led development.
