Hyderabad: From making toys and other handmade products to now purchasing and running buses and petrol pumps and setting up solar power units, the women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Telangana have come a long way.
A wide range of economic activity facilitated by the Telangana government and financial institutions is transforming the lives of lakhs of women members of SHGs.
In a major move for the financial empowerment of SHGs, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government decided to provide bank loans to them to purchase buses, which would be given for hire to the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC).
Under this first-of-its-kind initiative in India, SHGs will also be roped into operating buses, particularly in rural areas.
The Chief Minister Revanth Reddy government has decided to allow Mandal Mahila Samakhyas (MMS) or the mandal level federation of women SHGs to purchase 600 buses and give them on hire to TGSRTC. In the first phase, 150 buses will be procured with each bus costing Rs.36 lakh.
Under the scheme to be launched with 50 buses on International Women’s Day, the SHGs would contribute some percentage of margin money while the remaining amount would be financed by the banks.
The buses will be hypothecated to the respective MMS and registered in their names.
For the first phase of procurement of buses, Rs.54 crore have been released from the Community Investment Fund of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP).
The TGSRTC will pay Rs 77,220 per month to the respective MMS as rental charges.
The monthly hire charges will be paid for a period of seven years to reimburse the money invested by MMS. The money will be credited to the account of the respective MMS under the SERP Community Investment Fund.
The move will also help the RTC management to acquire more buses to meet the increased passenger rush in view of the free travel for women scheme.
The CM Revanth Reddy government is also planning E-auto subsidy of Rs.1 lakh for every auto rickshaw to be given to women who have completed driving training.
These are two of the several initiatives under the Telangana government’s ‘Mahila Shakti’ programme launched last year by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
Last month, Telangana’s first petrol pump, set up by Zilla (District) Mahila Samakhya (ZMS), was launched in Narayanpet.
While the Revanth Reddy government has provided six guntas of prime land, ZMS has invested Rs.20 lakh, including for land levelling and working capital.
Bharat Petroleum Company Limited (BPCL) has set up the petrol pump at a cost of Rs. 1.30 crore.
SHG women are managing the petrol pump. Nine people including seven women have been employed who would receive a salary of Rs. 11,000 each per month.
The petrol pump is estimated to generate a profit of around Rs. 50 lakh annually. This would be utilised by the Samakhya to support women SHG-led enterprises in the district.
Narayanpet ZMS president Chandrakala Kotakonda is the manager of the petrol pump and she is enjoying her new role.
“We are all excited about this new experience. This is not only financially empowering but helping us learn new things and giving us confidence,” she said.
The CM Reddy government now plans one such fuel station in every district and for this, the Telangana government will enter into agreements with oil marketing companies.
Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (Telangana) CEO, Divya Devarajan, called it a unique and collaborative business model.
Under another key initiative as part of the Mahila Shakti programme, women SHGs will set up 2MW solar power plants in all 32 districts. The Telangana government will provide financial assistance to these groups to set up the plants, which will contribute to women-led sustainable energy projects.
The Panchayat Raj department has submitted a proposal to the Energy department for allocation of solar power plants of 1,000 MW capacity to SHGs.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who is also the Energy Minister, directed the Energy department to take steps to ensure that women SHGs get the chance to generate the entire 4,000 MW of solar power as planned by the Telangana government.
The estimated cost for each one MW capacity solar power plant is Rs 3 crore. It is estimated that SHGs would get around Rs. 30 lakh income per year on one MW plant.
The officials will guide women in taking loans from banks to establish solar power plants. The Energy department will take land on lease basis and hand the plots over to SHGs to set up the plants.
Under Mahila Shathi, the government plans to provide financial linkages amounting to one lakh crore rupees to SHGs through banks and Streenidhi over the next five years.
The government has set the target of transforming one crore women into millionaires over the next five years.
The initiative also focusses on skill development training tailored to individual preferences, branding of SHG products, and robust marketing strategies to enhance the visibility and reach of SHG enterprises.
It is also proposed to establish common processing centres and mini industrial parks for women SHGs in every Assembly constituency of Telangana.
To support women in generating livelihood under the Indira Mahila Shakti programme, 25 mobile fish retail outlet (MFRO) vehicles were given to SHG women last month by the government.
The approximate unit cost is Rs. 10 lakh, out of which 60 per cent was provided and 40 per cent was member contribution.
As many women SHGs are engaged in stitching, the Telangana government is also giving them contracts to sew uniforms for students and the police.
Under another scheme, women SHGs are being allotted Mahila Shakti canteens. Women are being trained to run the canteens and each canteen also employs five women.
Telangana currently has 63.86 lakh women in the SHGs and the government plans to take this to one crore.
According to socio-economic outlook 2024, a total of 46.68 lakh women are organised into 4.37 lakh SHGs. These groups are further organised into 18,000 Village Organisations, 553 Mandal Samakhyas and 32 Zilla Samakhyas in Telangana. During 2023-24, loans to the tune of Rs. 15,652 crore to 2,66,669 SHGs under the bank linkage scheme were provided.
It was in 1990s that DWCRA (Development of women and children in rural areas) groups started in a few districts of then united Andhra Pradesh. Women came together to form thrift groups which were engaged in making toys and other handmade items. Their success led to a proliferation of such groups across the state.
With the expansion of entrepreneurial activity of these groups and the support of successive governments, banks came forward to provide loans without collateral.
(IANS)
