PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh Limited (BRJNSSSL) to Empower Rural Women Entrepreneurs.

In September 2025, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh Limited (BRJNSSSL), a new cooperative financial initiative aimed at empowering rural women entrepreneurs. During the launch, PM Modi initiated operations by transferring ₹105 crore into Jeevika Nidhi’s bank account to mark the beginning of the institution’s activities.

      - The Jeevika programme, launched in 2007 with financial support from the World Bank (WB), has grown into Bihar’s largest women-focused livelihood initiative, supporting women from economically weaker households.

      - The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP), popularly called Jeevika, is implemented by the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS), an autonomous body under the Department of Rural Development, Government of Bihar.

      - Over the years, Jeevika’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have fostered entrepreneurship among rural women, but many still relied heavily on microfinance institutions (MFIs) charging high interest rates between 18% to 24%. To reduce this dependency and ensure affordable access to larger loans, the state introduced the Jeevika Nidhi initiative as an alternative credit system.

Main Point :-   (i) The Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh Limited (BRJNSSSL) has been designed to expand financial inclusion across the state. Its primary objective is to provide affordable credit to registered cluster-level federations of Jeevika, which will form the core members of the cooperative. This effort aligns with the state’s mission of enabling sustainable, women-led entrepreneurship and financial self-reliance.

      (ii) The Bihar government has sanctioned a total of ₹1,000 crore for BRJNSSSL, providing a strong financial foundation for its activities. This significant allocation ensures robust liquidity support and outreach capacity, benefitting thousands of Jeevika Didis across Bihar. The cooperative is expected to play a key role in reducing rural women’s financial dependence on private lenders and expanding the scale of community enterprises.

(iii) To strengthen efficiency, BRJNSSSL will function entirely through a digitised platform, ensuring quick and transparent fund transfers directly into the bank accounts of Jeevika Didis. To operationalise this, 12,000 community cadres are being trained and equipped with tablets to deliver seamless financial services. The initiative marks a milestone in Bihar’s women-centric development approach, aiming to transform rural entrepreneurship and community-led enterprise growth.
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