Bhubaneswar: The state government has decided to create a dedicated fund to provide financial assistance to members of women self-help groups (SHGs) in case of accidental deaths, major injuries and diseases, Mission Shakti commissioner cum secretary Sujata R Karthikeyan said here, Saturday.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Saturday reviewed the performance of Mission Shakti department and implementation of promises made in election manifesto of 2019. Speaking to media, Sujata said Mission Shakti department has 7 million women organised into 6 lakh SHGs.
A dedicated fund, in line with the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), will be created in the next two to three months to provide financial support to women SHG members in case of accidental death and major injury, she said.
For the first time in the history, credit flow to SHGs has crossed Rs 11,000 crore in 2022-23. This is a quantum leap over a period of eight years. The credit flow has been increased 19 times over a period of eight years (2014-15 to 2022-23), Karthikeyan said. She further said that the average loan size of SHGs has also seen a big jump from `1.06 lakh in 2016-17 to Rs 3.01 lakh.
This quantum jump was boosted by the state government’s decision to provide zero interest loans upto Rs 5 lakh. In the past four years, Rs 587 crore has been reimbursed directly to bank accounts of more than 4 lakh SHGs, with `216 crore in the last year alone. With an aim to convert women SHGs into MSEs, the state government has facilitated business worth Rs 4,949 crore to the SHGs in convergence with 20 government departments, said Mission Shakti Minister Basanti Hembram.
Convergence guidelines have been prepared to incentivise the role of SHGs in different schemes. This has created opportunities for more than 1 lakh SHGs and enhanced their economic standing by generating a cumulative income of Rs 1,226 crore in the last 4 years.
As many as 11,008 clusters have been promoted under different livelihood sectors, she said. Further, 102 Mission Shakti Cafes have been opened across the state to provide healthy and nutritious food to people in a homely setting while being a good source of revenue generation for SHG members. With high quality training being provided by Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), these cafes have a daily footfall of 50-100 and average monthly earning of Rs 50,000, she pointed out.
The SHGs have set up 1,147 millet enterprises, promoting healthy and sustainable food practices. Pisciculture is being done by 13,431 SHGs in 13,501 GP tanks, which led to a business turnover of Rs 139 crore. For the first time, Mission Shakti institutions have received huge infrastructure support for strengthening SHGs and creating markets for their products.
The department has constructed 6,662 Mission Shakti Gruhas at GPs and Urban areas with an allocation of Rs 5 lakh (rural) and Rs 7.09 lakh (urban), the secretary said. Similarly, 127 Mission Shakti Bhawans were constructed at block level at a cost of Rs 50 lakh for each unit. Mission Shakti Bhawans constructed at district level with an allocation of Rs 1 crore for each unit.
Besides, 119 Mission Shakti outlets opened in 22 districts. District level Mission Shakti Bazaars are under construction. The state level Mission Shakti Bazaar will be opened soon, informed the secretary. This budget has the Mission Shakti Scooter scheme, where two lakh members will be covered. Interest subvention for loans upto Rs 1 lakh for purchase of scooter will be borne entirely by the state government, she added.
PNN
