Women-Led Solar Shops in Uttar Pradesh

• 11 Apr 2025

Why in News? 

The Uttar Pradesh government is going to launch 3,304 solar-powered shops under the CM Yuva Sathi Yojana, empowering women to independently run sustainable retail outlets. 

Key Points 

• Empowering Women: 
  • The CM Yuva Sathi Yojana aims to economically empower women by setting up solar-powered retail outlets across Uttar Pradesh. 
  • Selected women will independently operate these shops, gaining ownership and business autonomy. 
• District-Wise Selection and Implementation: 
  • Women entrepreneurs will be selected at the district level to manage the solar shops. 
  • The scheme targets rural and semi-urban areas to enhance women's participation in local economies. 
    • Four solar shops will be opened in each of the 826 blocks of the state . 
  • Women will be linked to Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) products like solar freezer, solar cold storage, solar flour mill, solar dryer, solar food processing machine . 
  •  One woman will be appointed as "Surya Sakhi" in every Gram Panchayat and 10,000 Paryavaran Sakhis will also be formed. 
    • A solar manufacturing unit will be set up in Lucknow . 
  • The government will also provide comprehensive training in shop management and solar equipment handling. 
• Promoting Green Energy and Employment: 
  • The scheme promotes clean energy by reducing reliance on conventional electricity. 
  • Lower operational costs and renewable energy use make the project eco-friendly. 
  • Simultaneously, it fosters local employment and encourages participation in government entrepreneurship initiatives. 
• Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM):  
  • Under the Mission, efforts are being made to provide self-employment to women through various business activities by linking them with self-help groups. 
    

 Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) 

• UPSRLM was launched in May 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. 
• The aim of this program is to appoint  58,000 BC Sakhis in Uttar Pradesh . 
• Currently there are 38,435 BC Sakhis working, who have been trained and certified by the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) . 
• This model has proven to be a cost-effective and sustainable means of delivering financial services in areas where banking services are limited or unavailable. 
• BC Sakhis are provided a financial assistance of Rs 4,000 per month for the first six months to give stability to their banking business