Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched the Mission Shakti loan scheme for 70 lakh self-help group (SHG) women of Odisha without interest up to Rs 10 lakh, uniform and blazer support for Mission Shakti women and interest repayment scheme of Rs 145 crore at a programme organised at Lok Seva Bhavan Convention Center in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, “Mission Shakti is my favourite programme. My government is continuously working for the dignity and welfare of women.” He added that Mission Shakti Maa has been provided government business assistance of Rs 8,000 crore through a special livelihood initiative. Women are now partners in various programmes of the Odisha government and are involved in the formation of Nua Odisha. Today Mission Shakti Ma’s good work has reached several regions of the country and even abroad. Expressing happiness that the women of self-help groups are going on exposure visits to Dubai and Singapore, he said that more and more women will go abroad in the future.
Mentioning the shift of self-help group women from SHGs to SMEs, the Chief Minister said that today women self-help group members have joined the corporate world and will be doing business. That is why Rs 730 crore has been arranged for uniforms and blazers for the 70 lakh self-help group members and 1.5 lakh SHG members of the state.
A total of Rs 145 crore was distributed as interest subvention directly to bank accounts of more than 2.75 lakh SHGs. In the last 5 years, Rs 925 crore has been returned to SHGs as interest subvention, the Chief Minister said.
Patnaik further said that the Mission Shakti Bazaar will help in selling the items made by the Mission Shakti women. A state-of-the-art Mission Shakti Bazaar will be inaugurated on Tuesday in Bhubaneswar and 5,000 Mission Shakti Bazaars and retail outlets will be opened across the state in the next 5 years. This year, Mission Shakti Maa received a bank loan of Rs 15,000 crore. A total of Rs 75,000 crore bank loans will be provided to the women in the next 5 years. Now the women of Odisha can take a bank loan of up to Rs 10 lakh without interest and all the interest will be returned by the state government. This will save lakhs of rupees for the Mission Shakti women. Today, Mission Shakti Maa is contributing to the transformation of Odisha, he said.
Appreciating the Mission Shakti Community Support Staff and Federation leaders for doing a good job, the Chief Minister said that they will get good news soon.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister launched the interest refund scheme at Maa Yamuna SHG in Bargarh district and gave a check to Maa Vimala SHG in Ganjam district.
Participating in the programme, Basanti Hembram, Minister of Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti, said that the commitment of the state government to women empowerment under the direction of the Chief Minister has given special recognition to Mission Shakti Maa. He said that this interest-free loan scheme by the Chief Minister to promote women-led enterprises at the SHG level will further empower women.
Mission Shakti Adviser Lopamuda Baksi, Gitanjali Bastia, and Chief Administrative Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena were present at the programme.
In the welcome speech, Sujatha Raut Karthikeyan, Commissioner and Administrative Secretary of the Mission Shakti Department, said that the interest-free loan system has strengthened the hands of women and empowered them financially. She said that the role of women in the transformation of Odisha is becoming more evident.
Sambalpur SHG leader Ketki Behera expressed her gratitude and said that the Chief Minister respects our women a lot. “They brought us out of the kitchen and took us to Dubai and Singapore.” She thanked the Chief Minister for arranging uniforms and blazers for 70 lakh Mission Shakti members in the state.
