Lakshmi Bhavani, a woman entrepreneur from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, faced a language barrier when invited to Delhi to share her success story under the Mudra Yojana scheme. Despite being told she might not be able to speak with Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to her inability to speak Hindi, Lakshmi ended up being one of the first to interact with him. She initially planned to stay silent, fearing embarrassment, but when the PM invited participants to speak, she confidently raised her hand and expressed herself in Telugu. To her surprise, Modi encouraged her and seemed to understand her words without an interpreter.
Lakshmi, who was a homemaker for a decade, took a 13-day training course in 2019 on making jute bags at a centre in Kadapa. That same year, she secured a ?2 lakh loan from Canara Bank under the Mudra Yojana to start her own business. She used the funds to purchase stitching equipment and raw materials, beginning her entrepreneurial journey in jute bag manufacturing.
Impressed by her loan repayment and business growth, the bank later sanctioned an additional ?9.5 lakh loan. Now, Lakshmi runs a small but growing rural enterprise that employs about 15 people, including other homemakers. Her business supplies jute bags to banks and institutions and handles bulk orders, generating a monthly turnover of ?2 to ?2.5 lakhs.
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