SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2026 Brings Rural Traditions to Gurugram

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 11 February 2026

• Gurugram shall stage the national-level SARAS Aajeevika Mela 202
• Rural traditions, folk arts, and women entrepreneurship are promoted at the fair
• The function was inaugurated by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2026, which is a National Level fair of rural traditions, folk art, and women-owned businesses from all over India.

The events are being hosted at the Leisure Valley Park Ground in Gurugram and commenced on February 10, 2026, and will end on February 26, 2026.

The event has been inaugurated on the 10th of February, 2026, by the Union Minister for Rural Development, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan Ji.

The Union Ministers of State for Rural Development, Dr. Chandrashekhar Pemmasani, and Sri Kamlesh Paswan, as Special Guests, will also attend the conference.

Over 900 women entrepreneurs from 28 states, of whom a majority belong to self-help groups, are participating in this year's fair.

Over 450 stalls have been established showing a multitude of goods; including Handicrafts, Textiles and Traditional items from many areas of India.

At a designated press conference during the event, Swati Sharma, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development, provided updates on the self-help groups established under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission, she indicated to approximately 10 crore women currently organised into these groups.

She also highlighted the improvements made in terms of financial inclusion, where the overall non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio of self-help groups falls below 2 percent in most states.

This improvement is attributed to better discipline in terms of timely repayment of loans to self-help groups by women.

A number of women entrepreneurs spoke and shared their experiences during the press conference, revealing how they were able to earn and create employment for themselves and others through self-help groups and government schemes. These stories are narrated at the Lakhpati Didi Pavilion.

One notable feature of the fair held during the current year was the opening of the Knowledge and Learning Pavilion, where workshops are being conducted on various aspects including packaging, branding, development of business proposal writing skills, and social media marketing.

In addition, training is being given to women entrepreneurs regarding the efficient transportation of their products to the domestic as well as international market, during the focused training sessions on the management of logistics and transportation. In addition, awareness is being provided regarding the use of E-SARAS, which would enable online sales during the fair.