Budget 2026-27: Sitharaman proposes SHE-Marts to boost women-led enterprises; what is it?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed setting up of Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts as community-owned retail outlets for rural women-led enterprises.

"Building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi Programme, I propose to help women take the next step from credit-led livelihoods to being owners of enterprises," Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

SHE Marts will be set up as community-owned retail outlets within the cluster level federations through enhanced and innovative financing instruments.

According to the Economic Survey, which was tabled in Parliament on January 29, women were major contributors to India’s economic growth. The Survey also outlined that increasing the participation of women in the workforce to around 55% by 2050 could be crucial for maintaining a high annual GDP growth trajectory. It also stated that women’s economic opportunities have increased due to initiatives such as Stand-Up India. Under this flagship scheme, the government offers loans to SC, ST and women entrepreneurs ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore.

By December 2025, 2.35 crore Demat accounts were added, pushing the total above 21.6 crore, of which about a fourth were held by women. The reach of gender-focused welfare schemes has also expanded as of January 2026, when the e-Shram portal enrolled over 31 crore unorganised workers. Of these, over 54% are women.

In the Union Budget 2025, allocations for women-focused schemes were increased. The Gender Budget, which directs funds towards initiatives that help women and girls, made for 8.86% of the overall Budget, up from 6.8% in FY 2024-25. More funds were also directed towards sectors such as maternal and child nutrition and women’s entrepreneurship. The government’s priority on improving outcomes for women and children was demonstrated by the fact that gender-focused projects received 81.79% of the Women and Child Development Ministry’s total allocation for FY 2025-26.

Women’s welfare received a record Rs 4.49 lakh crore in Budget 2025, up 37.25% in the previous financial year.