From snacks manufacturing in Lakhimpur Kheri to a water plant in Etawah, government support is helping women turn entrepreneurial dreams into successful businesses. Princy Gupta starts a snacks manufacturing unit with a collateral-free loan of Rs 4.50 lakh; now earns around Rs 40,000 a month. Sadhna establishes Jai Bhole Water Plant with a Rs 3.20 lakh loan and Rs 87,000 grant; now provides employment.The vision of a self-reliant Uttar Pradesh is increasingly taking shape through the entrepreneurial aspirations of its youth, particularly women who are stepping beyond traditional roles to establish and manage their own enterprises. The Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan (CM Yuva), an initiative of the Uttar Pradesh government under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is providing aspiring entrepreneurs with financial assistance, training and necessary guidance to turn their ideas into viable businesses.The experiences of Princy Gupta of Lakhimpur Kheri and Sadhna of Etawah illustrate how timely government support can transform an aspiration for self-reliance into a sustainable livelihood. While Princy has established a snacks manufacturing business, Sadhna is successfully running a drinking water plant. Their journeys are different, but both demonstrate the same message: with access to capital and the right institutional support, women can become entrepreneurs and create employment opportunities for others.
From limited capital to a snacks enterprise
For Princy Gupta of Lakhimpur Kheri, the desire to start something of her own had existed for a long time. However, insufficient capital stood in the way of converting that aspiration into a business. Her situation changed after she learned about the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan. She applied under the scheme and received a collateral-free loan of Rs 4.50 lakh in July 2025.The financial assistance provided Princy with the means to take the first concrete step towards entrepreneurship. Using the support, she established a snacks manufacturing business and began taking her products to the market. What began as an individual effort has now developed into a regularly operating enterprise.Today, Princy earns around Rs 40,000 per month from the business. The income has strengthened her family’s financial position while giving her a greater degree of economic independence. Princy is personally involved in different aspects of the enterprise, from preparing the products to marketing, sales and business management. Her experience reflects how access to affordable and collateral-free financial support can help young people overcome one of the biggest barriers to entrepreneurship—the initial requirement for capital.For Princy, the scheme has provided more than financial assistance. It has given her the confidence to take responsibility for her own enterprise and the motivation to expand it further. She now aims to increase the scale of her business and reach a larger market.
Sadhna turns a water plant into a source of livelihood
A similar story of determination and enterprise has emerged from Mahewa in Etawah district, where Sadhna has established and successfully operates Jai Bhole Water Plant. Sadhna learned about CM Yuva through a newspaper. She wanted to improve her family’s financial condition and become self-reliant, but lacked the resources required to establish an enterprise.Under the scheme, she received a loan of Rs 3.20 lakh along with a grant of Rs 87,000 in April 2025. The assistance enabled her to establish the water plant and begin supplying drinking water to customers in the area. For Sadhna, arranging the initial capital had been the biggest challenge. Government support helped remove that hurdle and allowed her to move from planning a business to actually running one.Through sustained effort and a focus on quality service, Jai Bhole Water Plant gradually gained the confidence of customers. The enterprise has now developed its own identity in the area, with annual turnover reaching approximately Rs 4.20 lakh.Sadhna’s enterprise is not limited to creating self-employment for herself. The water plant has provided direct employment to six people, linking the business to the livelihoods of several other families. She now wants to expand the enterprise further, increase access to pure drinking water and create additional employment opportunities.
From beneficiaries to job creators
The stories of Princy and Sadhna highlight an important dimension of CM Yuva: its objective goes beyond providing financial assistance. The scheme seeks to create an ecosystem in which young people can establish enterprises, generate income and eventually provide employment to others.For women in particular, entrepreneurship can create a pathway towards economic independence while also strengthening the financial resilience of their families.Princy’s snacks enterprise demonstrates how a relatively modest investment can become a source of regular monthly income. Sadhna’s water plant shows how government assistance can help establish an enterprise that subsequently creates employment for others.Together, the two examples reflect the broader philosophy behind CM Yuva—moving young people from the role of job seekers to that of job creators.
Government support meets entrepreneurial determination
Access to finance is often one of the first challenges faced by aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those who do not have sufficient resources or collateral. The Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan seeks to address this challenge by providing eligible youth with collateral-free loans along with training and necessary guidance.The experiences of Princy and Sadhna show the importance of this combination of financial and institutional support. Government assistance can provide the initial push, but the sustainability of an enterprise ultimately depends on the entrepreneur’s determination, quality of service, understanding of the market and willingness to continuously improve. Both women have demonstrated these qualities in their respective businesses.Their journeys also send a wider message to other aspiring entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh: starting a business does not necessarily require large resources at the outset. With the right opportunity, planning, government support and sustained effort, a small enterprise can become a foundation for economic independence.
A new face of women’s empowerment
The success stories emerging from districts such as Lakhimpur Kheri and Etawah underline the changing nature of women’s economic participation in Uttar Pradesh. Women are increasingly becoming not only beneficiaries of development schemes but also active participants in the state’s economic growth.Princy and Sadhna have each chosen different sectors, but their objective is similar—to build sustainable livelihoods through their own efforts. Their enterprises have strengthened their families financially and, in Sadhna’s case, have also generated employment for others.The Yogi government’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is therefore creating opportunities that extend beyond individual beneficiaries. Each successful enterprise has the potential to generate demand, employment, local economic activity and confidence among other aspiring entrepreneurs.
Strengthening the vision of Atmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh
The journeys of Princy Gupta and Sadhna demonstrate how the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan is translating the vision of an economically empowered and self-reliant Uttar Pradesh into opportunities at the grassroots level.A collateral-free loan of Rs 4.50 lakh enabled Princy to establish a snacks manufacturing business that now earns her around Rs 40,000 every month. In Etawah, a Rs 3.20 lakh loan and Rs 87,000 grant enabled Sadhna to establish a water plant whose annual turnover has reached approximately Rs 4.20 lakh and which provides employment to six people.These are more than individual success stories. They represent a model in which government support, entrepreneurship and determination come together to create sustainable livelihoods.As Princy looks to expand her snacks business and Sadhna plans to take her water plant to a larger scale, their journeys reinforce the central message of CM Yuva: the youth of Uttar Pradesh can become not merely job seekers, but job creators—and the state’s daughters can lead this transformation from the front.
