Hindustan Zinc Limited (BSE: 500188 | NSE: HINDZINC) continues to strengthen women’s economic empowerment through its Sakhi Utpadan Samiti Microenterprise initiative, which has recorded a 43% year-on-year increase in collective income generated by women-led enterprises. The income of participating women rose from ₹23 lakh in FY26 to ₹32.84 lakh, with the initiative now engaging 426 women, known as Sakhi Didis, across its expanding enterprise network.
The impact of the initiative is reflected in the journey of Manju Devi, who lost her husband to tuberculosis in 2019 and faced the challenge of raising her two children on an uncertain income from seasonal agricultural work. Today, she operates processing machinery and earns a steady monthly income of ₹8,000, demonstrating how access to skills, infrastructure and enterprise opportunities can help women build sustainable livelihoods.
Sakhi Microenterprise has evolved from community-based traditional skills into a diversified business producing food products, clothing and other value-added goods. Its Daichi brand offers pickles, honey, spices, pulses, namkeen, groundnut oil and ghee, while Upaya represents the enterprise’s clothing business. Together, the initiative operates 14 production units across Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Women are also expanding into crochet products and millet-based offerings, creating additional opportunities to use local resources and develop new income streams.
As part of its expansion, a millet production unit has been established at Dariba. The facility will enable women to participate in value-added food processing, widen the enterprise’s product portfolio and create opportunities around traditional, locally sourced grains. The initiative is exploring further avenues to strengthen production capabilities and develop products for emerging consumer markets.
Sakhi products are also gaining access to wider urban markets through a partnership with Le Marche, with products now available at three physical stores in Delhi. This complements the initiative’s presence on digital marketplaces and sales channels, including Blinkit, Amazon, Flipkart, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and its dedicated e-commerce platform, Heartswithfingers. The growing retail footprint is helping improve product visibility and connect women-led enterprises with a broader customer base.
Rooted in the principle of Swavalamban, or self-reliance, Sakhi Microenterprise aims to convert local skills into sustainable business opportunities while strengthening economic resilience within communities. By combining production infrastructure, market access and product diversification, the initiative is creating pathways for women to earn regular incomes and participate more actively in enterprise development.
Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company, advances community development through programmes focused on education, skill-building, sustainable livelihoods, women’s empowerment, healthcare and environmental conservation. Its initiatives reach more than 2.6 million people across over 4,100 villages, supporting inclusive growth in line with the company’s 2030 sustainability goals.
Hindustan Zinc Limited (BSE: 500188; NSE: HINDZINC), a Vedanta Group company, is the world’s largest integrated zinc producer and ranks among the top 10 silver producers globally. The company supplies products to more than 30 countries and holds approximately 74% of India’s primary zinc market. It was recognised as the world’s most sustainable company in the metals and mining category for the third consecutive year by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2025 and became the first Indian company to join the International Council on Mining & Metals in 2025. Hindustan Zinc has introduced EcoZen, Asia’s first low-carbon green zinc brand produced using renewable energy. The company is certified 3.32 times water-positive and is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Through its social development initiatives, it continues to support communities while supplying critical metals for the global energy transition.
