Rural women associating with SHGs Prayagraj: With the state govt setting new targets for all the districts to enrol the maximum number of rural women in livelihood groups for the 2026-27 financial year, Prayagraj district has secured the top position in the state for enrolling new eligible families under the ‘Family Saturation Campaign’ during the current financial year.Deputy commissioner (NRLM-Prayagraj), Shama Singh, said, “In the 2026-27 financial year, as many as 1,22,000 new eligible families in the district have been linked to self-help groups so far, making Prayagraj rank first in the state for adding new families this year.”“Currently, 31,753 groups have been formed in the district, connecting a total of 4,00,951 families,” she added. The district has been assigned a target to link 7,00,000 families to these groups.Nodal officer for the campaign, Sharad Singh, said that these women will now be able to avail themselves of benefits related to savings, credit, training, and employment opportunities.Instructions have been issued to open bank accounts for them, enabling the groups to access govt financial assistance, bank loans, and other scheme benefits. Access to banking facilities will make it easier for rural women to start enterprises and expand their economic activities.Officials, meanwhile, said that Prayagraj district also ranked second in the recently held special fortnight Family Saturation Campaign taken up between Aug 5 and 20 across the state.Chief development officer (Prayagraj) Harshika Singh said that this campaign identified eligible families who were not yet connected to Self-Help Groups or the Rural Livelihood Mission. It aimed to economically empower every eligible rural woman by linking them to self-employment opportunities, banking facilities, and govt schemes.During the 15-day campaign, door-to-door surveys were held to identify the eligible families. In Prayagraj district, as many as 23,559 eligible families were covered under the campaign and linked to SHGs, securing the second position for the district in the state. During the campaign, 2,348 SHGs were also formed in the district.Bahraich has topped the list with 23,591 families, while Ghazipur was third with 19,774 families covered in the campaign. Across the state, a total of 3,22,705 families were covered under the campaign, and 30,128 new groups were formed.Officials said that state govt is fast moving to create empowered women and a prosperous state. SHGs formed under the Livelihood Mission are serving as a robust medium for this initiative. These groups are being continuously expanded to ensure that the maximum number of eligible rural women can be included.