Recognising the potential of aquaculture in bringing techno-economic empowerment of rural women in coastal tracts of Orissa, the Directorate of Research on Women in Agriculture (DRWA), Bhubaneswar, has taken up several initiatives to empower the rural women with different aquaculture technologies. The model described in this publication is an outcome of a participatory action research with 12 villages in Orissa taking into consideration constraints generally experienced by women in the implementation of the technology. A suitable strategy for nursery production of Indian major carps namely catla, rohu and mrigal is described.