VARANASI, July 23 -- Under the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, Varanasi district secured the top position in the ranking released by Lucknow headquarters for June 2025. The rankings are now being issued monthly based on various indicators, said district mission manager Shravan Kumar Singh, adding that the district was ranked sixth in May. The rankings are based on a range of indicators, including profiling of self-help groups, village organisations and clusters on the LokOS app, group formation, village organisation, credit linkage, start up fund, internal audit, model clusters, BC Sakhi, Vidyut Sakhi, internal community resource person (ICRP) for food nutrition health wash (NHW) producer group, expenditure in relation to the annual action plan. Currently, over 11,600 self-help groups have been formed in Varanasi district, with more than 1.30 lakh women associated with them. District Mission Manager Shravan Kumar Singh said that joining these groups has significantly improved women's standard of living and boosted their income. They have not only gained freedom to lead their lives independently but have also accessed various employment opportunities and platforms to develop and showcase their skills. The Ajeevika Mission is empowering women to progress economically, educationally, and politically, said district mission manager Shravan Kumar Singh. He added that women are excelling in many areas by utilising their skills, and the livelihood mission is also providing a platform to promote and market the products they produce. To empower women of self-help groups, the mission is providing Rs.30,000 per group as a revolving fund and Rs.1.5 lakh as a community investment fund. To ensure there is no shortage of capital, the groups are also being linked to bank loans. They are required to pay only 7% annual interest on loans up to Rs.3 lakh. The Ajeevika Mission team is making dedicated efforts to uplift women and bring about a meaningful transformation in their standard of living, he added....