Digital India at 11: eSaras links 8.99 crore SHG members with buyers

NEW DELHI: Digital India is marking its eleventh anniversary by taking rural entrepreneurship well beyond village boundaries. At the heart of that journey is eSaras, a government-backed digital marketplace that is helping millions of women-led businesses find customers across India, one click at a time.

Developed by the Digital India Corporation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development, the platform operates under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission. It connects self-help groups (SHGs), women entrepreneurs, producer collectives and farmer producer organisations (FPOs) directly with buyers through a digital commerce ecosystem.

The scale of the initiative has grown rapidly. Today, more than 8.99 crore registered SHG members are part of the programme, making it one of the world’s largest women-led livelihood networks.

The platform currently hosts more than 1,400 products, ranging from chips, papad, pickles and honey to handloom textiles, handicrafts, bamboo products, dairy items, herbal products, spices, home décor and millet-based foods.

Market access has expanded through integration with the Open Network for Digital Commerce, with over 800 buyers accessing SHG products through ONDC-enabled applications. Products are also available across 11 or more buyer applications, while more than 50 SARAS Melas are organised every year to showcase rural enterprises.

The government said the platform supports its wider ambition of creating 6 crore Lakhpati Didis by 2029, enabling verified rural women entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses and improve household incomes.

Unlike conventional online marketplaces, eSaras provides an end-to-end digital commerce ecosystem. Sellers receive digital onboarding through the LokOS platform, online cataloguing tools, inventory management, secure digital payments, integrated logistics, order management and multilingual access powered by BHASHINI.

By reducing reliance on intermediaries, the platform enables rural producers to sell directly to customers nationwide while retaining a greater share of their earnings.

The initiative also encourages value addition before products reach the market. Instead of selling raw agricultural produce, SHGs are trained to manufacture packaged food products such as chips, papad, jams, pickles, squashes, candies, processed pulses, bottled honey and packaged spices, helping improve product quality, shelf life and profit margins.

Capacity building remains another key pillar of the programme. Women entrepreneurs receive training in digital onboarding, product listing, branding, packaging, product photography, inventory management, digital marketing, customer service, logistics and financial literacy, equipping them to run online businesses independently.

Technology forms the backbone of the platform. eSaras integrates with UMANG, secure digital payment systems, logistics partners and API-based verification services. Digital seller verification through LokOS strengthens trust, while accessibility features such as text-to-speech, adjustable text size and multilingual support aim to make the platform usable for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

One of the programme’s success stories comes from Falak Self-Help Group in Khurja, Uttar Pradesh. Known for producing GI-tagged Khurja pottery, the group earlier depended on local markets and exhibitions. After joining eSaras around three-and-a-half years ago, it has expanded its customer base across India, with integrated logistics helping safely deliver fragile handcrafted products while preserving a traditional craft.

The platform has steadily expanded since its launch. The eSaras web portal went live on October 28, 2022, followed by the Android application on June 28, 2023. Subsequent integration with ONDC, payment gateways, logistics providers, Power BI analytics, digital verification services and UMANG has strengthened its nationwide reach and operational efficiency.

As Digital India completes 11 years, eSaras reflects how digital public infrastructure is extending beyond cities to villages, enabling rural women and producer groups to transform traditional skills into sustainable businesses while connecting India’s local products with a national market.