National Recognition for Chhattisgarh's Innovative Material Bank Initiative

Raipur, June 29,2026/ Chhattisgarh's innovative Material Bank model for rural housing has won national recognition at the two-day National Rural Development Conference in New Delhi, with Union Rural Development Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan praising it as an effective innovation for accelerating construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G). The state was represented at the conference by Deputy Chief Minister and Panchayat & Rural Development Minister Shri Vijay Sharma. Under the Material Bank Model, women from self-help groups operate as "Dealer Didis", ensuring construction materials are available at a single point for PMAY-G beneficiaries in remote villages, making house construction faster, easier and more affordable. The initiative has also boosted women's incomes, with over 10,000 women progressing towards becoming 'Lakhpati Didis'. Shri Chouhan also commended Chhattisgarh's implementation of Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana for promoting skill development and self-employment, noting that the state recorded the country's highest number of mason trainees through RSETIs in the last financial year. Shri Vijay Sharma said the recognition reflected the state's effective implementation of welfare schemes and rural development initiatives under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai.