Sri Vijaya Puram, November 3: Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded sales of approximately ₹4.30 lakh at a three-day Deepawali Mela in Marina Park, reflecting growing market acceptance of locally produced goods and the expanding commercial opportunities available to rural women entrepreneurs.
Organised from October 30 to November 1 under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Rural Livelihoods Mission (ANIRLM), the exhibition brought together SHGs supported by the mission under the Directorate of Rural Development. The sales generated during the event highlighted the ability of these groups to market their products directly to consumers through organised exhibitions and fairs.
The turnover also points to the role of market access in strengthening income-generating activities among rural women. While SHG members undertake production, opportunities to display and sell their goods remain an important part of developing their enterprises and improving the commercial reach of locally made products.
The ANIRLM has been facilitating such market opportunities through exhibitions, fairs, institutional procurement, retail outlets and other promotional initiatives. These channels are intended to connect SHG producers with buyers and provide greater visibility to products made by members.
The mission plans to strengthen these market linkages further and position SHG products as quality local offerings. Its broader objective includes supporting sustainable livelihood opportunities for rural women and contributing to the government’s Lakhpati Didi vision.
The Marina Park exhibition provides a sales-based indication of consumer response to SHG products, while the mission’s continued efforts focus on creating more avenues through which rural women can access markets beyond individual exhibitions.
For SHG enterprises, the challenge extends beyond production to establishing consistent access to buyers and strengthening the market presence of their goods. The ANIRLM’s approach combines exhibition-based sales with institutional procurement and retail channels to widen those opportunities.
The ₹4.30 lakh turnover recorded during the three-day event places market access and the commercial viability of rural women’s enterprises at the centre of the mission’s livelihood development efforts in the Islands.
