As Digital India completes 11 years, the government’s eSaras platform is helping rural women entrepreneurs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) access markets across the country through digital commerce.
Developed by the Digital India Corporation in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development under DAY-NRLM, the platform supports over 8.99 crore SHG members and offers more than 1,400 products, including handicrafts, handloom items, honey, papad, pickles and spices.
Integrated with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), eSaras provides digital onboarding, secure payments, logistics support and multilingual services, enabling rural producers to sell directly to customers and improve their incomes.
The platform also promotes value addition by encouraging SHGs to market processed products such as chips, pickles, jams and packaged spices. Women entrepreneurs are trained in branding, digital marketing, packaging and online business management to strengthen their enterprises.
The initiative supports the government’s vision of creating 6 crore Lakhpati Didis by 2029, while expanding market access, preserving traditional crafts and generating sustainable rural livelihoods through technology.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
