Karnataka women use Gruha Lakshmi funds to start small businesses
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Women in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka used funds from the Gruha Lakshmi scheme to launch and expand small businesses.
R. Mehroz Khan, the Vice-Chairperson of the State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority, met with several beneficiaries to discuss how the government payments improved their family incomes. The beneficiaries reported diverse ways they utilized the money to transition into entrepreneurship. One woman used the funds to move from ironing clothes to selling saris and clothes.
Another woman, who previously worked as a daily wage laborer, opened a chicken stall in her village. Other women used the payments to purchase cows for milk production or to open provision stores to replace uncertain work in quarries. During a review meeting, Khan noted that the government of Karnataka disbursed 841.14 crore rupees for the scheme in the 2025-26 period. He also discussed other regional initiatives, such as the Shakti scheme which provides free bus travel for women.
The district recorded 8.69 crore trips under this scheme, with the government paying 336.19 crore rupees to the KSRTC between June 2023 and September 2026. Khan also reviewed the Gruha Jyothi scheme, which has reached 4,73,682 families in the district. He instructed officials to ensure fair price shops open at 7 a.m. and to complete house-to-house verifications for the electricity scheme by the end of October.
