The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog as knowledge partner launched the Swavalambini - a Women Entrepreneurship Programme in February, 2025 in six Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)/Universities of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana as a pilot project. The Ministry is implementing the programme through its Autonomous Institutes, namely, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Noida and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati.

The Swavalambini project introduces a structured, multi-stage training approach to help young women transition from ideation to successful enterprise creation. The Project aims to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among female students, equipping them with awareness of available support mechanisms, schemes, resources and networks essential for pursuing entrepreneurship as a career.

The target group for the Swavalambini Project includes 1200 female students from Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) and Universities who will undergo introductory programme on entrepreneurial awareness through Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP). Out of these, 600 students selected from EAP participants will undergo the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) offering intensive entrepreneurship development training covering crucial business aspects such as skilling, access to finance, market linkages, compliance and legal support, business services and networking opportunities. This will be followed by 21 weeks of mentorship and handholding support to help participants translate their ideas into sustainable enterprises.

MSDE will oversee the execution, supervision, and monitoring of the programme, while NITI Aayog will organize workshops, provide mentoring support, facilitate seed funding, and recognize successful entrepreneurs through the Award to Reward (ATR) initiative.

During the mentoring and handholding support, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs will guide the participants by providing mentorship and hands-on support. Successful entrepreneurs will be invited to share their experiences, highlighting the challenges they overcame and the strategies they used to establish their businesses.

To ensure long-term impact, the programme also includes a Faculty Development Programme (FDP), where faculty members from participating HEIs/Universities shall undergo a five-day training session. This initiative will equip educators with the necessary skills to mentor and guide aspiring women entrepreneurs within their institutions.

 

The programme-wise details of participants trained under the pilot project as on 15.07.2025 is as under:

Name of the Programme	Total Target	Total Trained
Faculty Development Programme (FDP)	75	43
Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP)	1200	996
Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)	600	139

 

Based on the outcomes of the pilot Swavalambini programme, the Ministry will assess the feasibility of scaling up the Swavalambini Programme to a wider network of HEIs across more States/UTs with the objective of embedding entrepreneurial knowledge in higher education, thereby, empowering young women to become job creators and contribute meaningfully to India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Shri Jayant Chaudhary in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today

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VV/SH

(Release ID: 2150227)