National SARAS Mela 2026 Opens in Vijayawada, the First Outside the Delhi-NCR Region

13 October 2026National

The Ministry of Rural Development opened the National SARAS Mela 2026 at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, running 13 to 31 October 2026 - the first National SARAS Mela held outside the Delhi-NCR region, with President Droupadi Murmu scheduled to inaugurate it formally on 15 October. Organised with the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) and the Andhra Pradesh government, the fair brings together over 1,500 women entrepreneurs from Self-Help Groups across 30 states and Union Territories to market handicrafts, handlooms, processed foods and other rural produce directly to buyers under the DAY-NRLM umbrella.

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SARAS stands for Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans Society | DAY-NRLM - the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission - began in 2011 as the Aajeevika mission and was renamed in 2015 | The Lakhpati Didi initiative, aiming to help Self-Help Group women earn over Rs 1 lakh a year, runs under DAY-NRLM

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