Port Blair, Jan 03: The Lt. Governor, A&N Islands, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi has called upon the women of the Islands to take benefit of various schemes launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for their empowerment and upliftment. He said a country’s progress cannot be achieved until women stand on their feet. He mentioned about schemes like ‘Ujjwala’, under which LPG connections are given in the name of women in BPL households across the country, ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme for ensuring survival & protection of the girl child and ‘Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Yojana’ for pregnant women, to name a few. The Lt. Governor was addressing a huge gathering of rural women who have formed Self Help Groups with the support of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in these Islands, in the auditorium of DBRAIT here this morning.
This programme of SHG meet and exhibition of products made by SHGs was organised by NABARD. The Chairman, NABARD, Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Chairperson, State Social Welfare Board, Dr. Poonam Arora and the General Manager, NABARD, Shri Hemant Songadkar were also present on the occasion. Earlier, the Lt. Governor and other dignitaries also lit the ritual oil lamp to mark the commencement of the programme.
Further speaking on the occasion, the Lt. Governor said, the efforts made towards making our country best in the world cannot see success unless and until our women are self reliant and they are empowered, which has been on the mind of our Hon’ble Prime Minister too, since day one and keeping this in mind, the Govt. has launched several programmes for women empowerment.
Turning to SHG movement in the country and in the Islands, the Lt. Governor said that this movement is also a way in the direction of women empowerment and expressed happiness that such a huge number of Self Help Groups are active in A&N Islands. He congratulated NABARD for its efforts in giving such a momentum to this mass movement here.
The Lt. Governor mentioned that throughout the country about 77 lakh SHGs involving and benefitting 10 crore families are functioning and NABARD has disbursed a huge amount of Rs.51,545 crore to these SHGs so far. Though the SHG members are talented and capable they need training and encouragement and NABARD has rightly been encouraging them and brought them forward so that the rural ladies can become self reliant, opined the Lt. Governor.
The Lt. Governor asked the SHG members to put forth their problems so that the bottlenecks can be removed effectively. He assured of all help from the Administration to NABARD in implementing its projects. The Lt. Governor also acknowledged that the SHG members should get proper outlets for selling their products and said some places for the purpose have been identified where shops could be constructed and given to SHGs for a certain time. These shops can be in the main market area, PBMC markets etc. where people can visit conveniently and can also be located where tourists visit frequently, said the Lt. Governor adding that this will be worked out soon in collaboration with NABARD.
The Lt. Governor also urged the ladies to take pride in their earnings, the exposure that they are getting which is boosting their self confidence and giving them an opportunity to connect with the world.
Speaking on the occasion, the NABARD Chairman, Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala highlighted about the activities of NABARD which began in the year 1982 and became mainstream in 1995. Speaking about NABARD’s phenomenal role in rural development in India, Dr. Bhanwala said the SHGs, under NABARD’s schemes borrow money from banks once they have accumulated a base of their own capital and start their ventures. SHG movement has become business opportunity for banks today and about 50 crore people are associated with the SHG movement in the country directly or indirectly, he said. Ladies are largely benefitted by the SHGs as they share their ideas and problems with other ladies in the group and march forward towards self reliance together.
Dr. Bhanwala also highlighted the need for the SHGs to adopt cashless economy in today’s world of transparency. A national programme in this regard will be launched soon while a pilot project has already been initiated and all the accounts of the ladies involved in SHG movement will also be Adhaar seeded in the coming days, he said. Dr. Bhanwala also informed that the First Lady of the Islands, Smt. Prem Mukhi will be the Patron of the SHG movement of the A&N Islands under whose guidance the schemes and programmes for SHGs will be reviewed from time to time.
Earlier, the GM, NABARD, Shri Hemant Songadkar, while welcoming the dignitaries and the SHG members present in the auditorium said that NABARD is committed to give further momentum to the micro finance movement in the country and in A&N Islands. He informed that in A&N Islands over 6000 SHGs are registered and functioning. NABARD is organising micro entrepreneurship development programmes to encourage the ladies involved in the SHGs to take up various projects, especially for coming out with products using locally available raw materials. He also thanked the Administration for providing a platform like ‘Andaman Bazaar’ where the SHG members can sell their products, once in every three months. He also informed about various programmes being organised by NABARD in association with different NGOs and expressed hope that the synergy of efforts from all sides will bring more prosperity amongst the rural populace.
Earlier, the Lt. Governor also inaugurated the exhibition of various products made by the different women Self Help Groups, in the DBRAIT premises itself. He went round the exhibition area and also interacted with the SHG members.
