Tripura national frontrunner in rural women entrepreneurship: Governor

Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu on Monday said that over 1.08 lakh women in the state have become ‘Lakhpati Didis’, making Tripura a national frontrunner in rural women entrepreneurship.

A ‘Lakhpati Didi’ is a member of a Self-Help Group (SHG) whose annual household income exceeds Rs 1 lakh.

Unfurling the National Flag at the main Republic Day function held at the Assam Rifles ground here, the Governor said that women empowerment remains one of the priority sectors of the Tripura government.

To support higher education of girl children from Antyodaya families and to prevent child marriage, the state government has launched a new scheme titled ‘Mukhyamantri Balika Samriddhi Yojana (MBSY)’. Under the scheme, a one-time financial assistance of Rs 50,000 will be provided to each eligible girl child belonging to Antyodaya families and born on or after April 1, 2025.

Only two girl children from an Antyodaya family will be eligible for benefits under the scheme.

The Governor said that another new scheme, ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Bibaha Yojana’, has also been launched during 2025-26. Under this scheme, a girl aged 18 years and above from an Antyodaya family will be provided Rs 50,000 for marriage purposes.

Highlighting the state’s performance in the education sector, Reddy Nallu said Tripura achieved a historic milestone by being declared a fully literate state on June 23, 2025, becoming the third state in the country to attain this status.

He said that through successful implementation of the ‘ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) – New India Literacy Programme’, the state’s literacy rate has risen to 95.6 per cent, well above the national average.

The Governor informed that the state government has approved the proposal to upgrade the existing Women’s College into a state university to be named ‘Tripura Government Women’s University’.

He said the government has also initiated the process to upgrade the Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) into a State Technical University to strengthen higher education infrastructure.

Additionally, a new Women’s College will be set up at Nalchar in Sepahijala district to create more opportunities for female students.

Highlighting developments in the tourism sector, the Governor said that development works worth Rs 52.04 crore at the 524-year-old Mata Tripura Sundari Temple at Udaipur in Gomati district have been inaugurated under the PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme of the Union Ministry of Tourism.

The temple, built in 1501 by erstwhile king Maharaja Dhanya Manikya, is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the country and the third such shrine in eastern India after the Kalighat temple in Kolkata and the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.

Reddy said that tourism infrastructure projects worth Rs 179.72 crore are being implemented under an Externally Aided Project with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at Kasba Kalibari Temple, Chaturdash Devtabari Temple, Sonamukhi, Kailashahar, Chabimura, Amarsagar and Fatiksagar.

He added that the Union Ministry of Tourism has approved Rs 97.70 crore for setting up replicas of all 51 Shakti Peethas at Banduar, near the Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur, under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme for the 'Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale'.

On infrastructure, the Governor said Tripura currently has six National Highways with a total length of 923.31 km, while four more National Highways with a combined length of 229.25 km have been sanctioned.