IEPFA Launches Niveshak Didi Phase II to Empower Rural Women through Financial Literacy.
National
The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, partnered with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, to initiate Phase II of the “Niveshak Didi” programme on April 8–9, 2025. The expansion aims to deepen financial inclusion and education among rural and underserved women across India.
- Phase II expands the initiative which was first launched in 2022, building on Phase I’s success—where over 55,000 beneficiaries participated in IPPB financial literacy camps across India and around 60% of them were women in economically active age groups, two-thirds of whom came from remote rural areas.
- The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between IEPFA and IPPB was executed in New Delhi on April 8, 2025, marking a strategic deepening of efforts to equip rural women with financial skills.
- Phase II mandates the establishment of more than 4,000 financial literacy camps across the country led by nearly 40,000 trained women postal workers—referred to as “Niveshak Didis”—who will serve as community financial educators.
Main Point :- (i) Curriculum for these camps focuses on responsible investing, savings habits, digital banking tools in vernacular languages, and measures to prevent fraud, thereby promoting informed money management and secure digital inclusion.
(ii) Leadership and advocacy for the programme come from Smt. Anita Shah Akella, CEO of IEPFA and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Gursharan Rai Bansal, Chief General Manager & CSMO of IPPB. Both underscored that empowering local women as financial influencers creates community-wide impact.
(iii) This collaboration aligns with the broader agenda of inclusive growth and grassroots empowerment, reinforcing the government’s commitment to bridging financial literacy gaps and extending accessible banking to every doorstep nationwide.
____________________________
