NRLM SHG Loan and Lakhpati Didi 2026: 7% Rate, Limits

Self-help group (SHG) loans under DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission) are the cheapest formal credit most rural women can get: 7% interest on loans up to ₹3 lakh, and no collateral up to ₹20 lakh per group. The scheme is active as of October 2026. Lakhpati Didi is the government's target of lifting SHG women to ₹1 lakh household income a year using these loans and livelihood support; it is not a separate loan, and there is no official "₹5 lakh interest-free Lakhpati Didi loan".

How the scheme works

DAY-NRLM, run by the Ministry of Rural Development through State Rural Livelihood Missions (such as JEEViKA, Kudumbashree or Mission Mangalam), organises poor rural women into SHGs of 10 to 20 members (minimum 5 for special groups such as persons with disabilities or remote tribal areas). Groups save regularly, lend internally, and then get:

• Revolving Fund of ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 per SHG as corpus from the mission;
• Community Investment Fund routed through village and cluster-level federations;
• Bank loans linked to the group's corpus, with interest subvention from the government.

Interest rate and subvention (as of October 2026)

These rates are from the RBI Master Circular on DAY-NRLM dated 1 April 2025, the latest one available at the time of writing.

The subvention applies to public sector, private sector and small finance banks in all districts, and only while the account is standard (not overdue as an NPA). Older articles mention an extra 3% for prompt repayment in 250 districts bringing the rate to 4%; that feature is not in the 2025-26 circular, so do not count on it.

Individual SHG members who take enterprise loans may get a separate 2% prompt-repayment subvention under the Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund, on loans up to ₹1.5 lakh per borrower, for up to 3 years and once per person.

Loan limits by dose

Corpus means the group's savings plus revolving fund and interest earned. Repaying one dose on time is what unlocks the next.

Collateral and margin rules

• Up to ₹10 lakh: no collateral, no margin, no lien on the SHG's savings account, no fixed deposit.
• ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh: no collateral or lien; the bank may take a margin of up to 10% of the amount above ₹10 lakh. The whole loan is eligible for CGFMU guarantee cover.

Who is eligible

• A women's SHG active for at least 6 months as per its books.
• Following the Panchasutras: regular meetings, regular savings, internal lending, timely repayment and updated books.
• Meeting NABARD's grading norms.
• A defunct group that is revived and active for at least 3 months can also qualify.

Lakhpati Didi: what it is and where it stands

A Lakhpati Didi is an SHG member whose household income is ₹1 lakh or more a year, sustained over at least four agricultural seasons or business cycles (about ₹10,000 a month on average). The original target was 3 crore women. The Rural Development Minister reported about 3.01 crore by February 2026, and in August 2026 the Prime Minister said the target had been surpassed. The new goal is 6 crore Lakhpati Didis by 2029 (reports cite March 2029 or 2029-30).

Practically, "becoming a Lakhpati Didi" means using SHG credit for a livelihood (dairy, goatery, tailoring, food processing, a shop) with training and market support from the SRLM. Budget 2026-27 announced community-owned SHE-Marts for selling SHG products; detailed guidelines were still awaited as of October 2026.

Documents needed

• SHG resolution to borrow, signed by members
• SHG savings account passbook and books of accounts (minutes, savings and loan registers)
• Micro Credit Plan showing each member's loan purpose
• KYC (Aadhaar or other officially valid document) of members and office bearers
• Grading sheet filled by the bank or SRLM staff

Step-by-step: how an SHG gets a bank loan

1. Join or form an SHG with help from the village organisation, community resource person (CRP) or block office of your SRLM.
2. Open a savings account in the group's name and save regularly for at least 6 months.
3. Get the Revolving Fund from the mission and keep books up to date.
4. Prepare a Micro Credit Plan listing each member's need and repayment plan.
5. Apply at the bank branch with the documents. The bank grades the group and sanctions a term loan or cash credit limit.
6. Repay monthly on time so the account stays standard and subvention keeps flowing; this also qualifies you for the next dose.

The SHG loan process has no fee for "agents". Banks may not insist on deposits or collateral below ₹10 lakh.

Worked example: what 7% saves on a ₹3 lakh loan

An SHG takes a ₹3 lakh second-dose loan and repays it in 36 monthly instalments.

• At 7%: EMI = ₹9,263; total interest about ₹33,473.
• At an illustrative 12% normal rate: EMI = ₹9,964; total interest about ₹58,715.
• Saving from the 7% rate: about ₹25,242 over 3 years.

For a 10-member group sharing equally, each woman repays about ₹926 a month at 7%.

A group borrowing ₹5 lakh at the 10% cap for 36 months would pay EMI of about ₹16,134 and total interest of about ₹80,809. Check other combinations in the EMI calculator.

Why SHG loans get delayed or rejected

• Group less than 6 months old or books not updated
• Irregular meetings or savings, poor grading
• Overdue earlier loan, which also stops subvention
• Members already over-borrowed from microfinance lenders; see microfinance loan rules
• Bank wrongly asking for collateral or fixed deposits on loans below ₹10 lakh

How to complain

1. Raise it with the branch manager, then the block or district SRLM staff, who attend the Block Level Bankers' Committee.
2. Complain to the bank's grievance redressal officer in writing.
3. If the bank does not resolve it within 30 days, file with the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in.
4. For mission issues (revolving fund, CIF), use CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in) against the Ministry of Rural Development.
5. Report anyone collecting fees for "Lakhpati Didi loans" at cybercrime.gov.in or 1930.

For individual women's business loans beyond SHG credit, see loan schemes for women entrepreneurs and the comparison of government business loan schemes.

Key takeaways

• Women SHGs get bank loans up to ₹3 lakh at 7%, and ₹3-5 lakh at no more than 10%, under the 2025-26 RBI master circular.
• No collateral up to ₹20 lakh; no margin or deposit up to ₹10 lakh.
• Loan doses grow from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹6 lakh and more with timely repayment.
• Lakhpati Didi is an income target (₹1 lakh a year), now raised to 6 crore women by 2029, not a separate loan.
• There is no official ₹5 lakh interest-free Lakhpati Didi loan; never pay agents.