Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurates Saras Aajeevika Food Festival in Delhi

New Delhi [India], December 2 : Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Food Festival 2025 at Sunder Nursery, Nizamuddin, according to an official statement.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Annapurna Devi, was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion on Monday, Union Minister Chauhan said that "our Lakhpati Didis have proved that they wield immense powers. In fact, they have written a new saga of progress, development and prosperity with their hard work. Today, Lakhpati Didis have come from 25 states and many of them are showing the way to the entire country with their qualities, hard work and dedication."
Welcoming Lakhpati Didis in the national capital, Shivraj Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to the "development of our sisters" and the Union Rural Development Ministry is continuously working to realise this dream.
"Why should any sister remain poor, why should she be dependent, why should she shed tears? Instead, she should march ahead with her skills and hard work," Shivraj Singh said.
Shivraj Singh said that our country is unique. Despite different languages and attire, it unifies us as one. Our Didis, who have come from different provinces, carry a spark of faith in their eyes. They have stepped out to scale the heights of prosperity through their hard work and skills.
The Union Minister said that the Saras Food Festival will feature dishes from every region. Taste, self-reliance, and indigenousness are all in one place. Our food reflects the flavours of India's culture; nowhere else can one find such a variety of food and flavours. Indian cuisine is not just about taste; it truly embodies mother's teachings, grandmother's traditions, and memories of the soil, and this is why I invite everyone to come to the Saras Food Festival. What you find here is not available anywhere else because the Didis make the dishes.
Saras Aajeevika Food Festival has become a strong platform to provide market access and recognition to the women of self-help groups formed under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, especially to the hundreds of Lakhpati Didis. The festival aims to financially empower rural women, provide them with self-employment opportunities and inspire other rural women.
The food festival will feature women from 25 states serving over 500 traditional, delicious dishes across 62 stalls. The festival will be open to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily until December 9th.
Many dishes like Himachali Seeddu, Tandoori Chai from Uttarakhand, Kalari Kulcha from Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, North Eastern Momo, Bengali Fried Fish, Kair Sagari from Rajasthan, Gatte ki Sabzi, Bajra Roti, Hilsa Fish Curry from Bengal, Chicken from Telangana, Malabar Biryani of Kerala, Litti-Chokha of Bihar and Sarson Ka Saag-Maize Roti of Punjab are attracting the visitors.
The festival offered a glimpse of the country's cultural and social diversity, with participation from many states, including Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Gujarat.
Along with food stalls, stalls of natural and rural products have also been set up, through which visitors are getting acquainted with the economic and social stream of the villages. The festival has become an effective medium for showcasing the rich traditions, self-reliance, and women-led livelihood models of rural India.