Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced to provide loan up to Rs 3 lakh to women Self Help Groups (SHGs) with zero-per cent interest under the Mission Shakti programme.
At a State-level convention of Mission Shakti groups at the Talabania Sports Complex here, Patnaik also announced that a cheque of Rs 15,000 would be given to each of three lakh new Women SHGs as seed money. Besides, he announced to provide financial assistance of Rs 3,000 to each SHG for a smart phone.
As many as 14,684 new SHGs of Puri district were provided a total of Rs 22 crore as seed money on the occasion. A total of Rs 450 crore would be provided as seed money to 3 lakh new SHGs formed after April 2017, he said.
A total of Rs 180 crore would be spent for providing mobiles to all SHGs, which include Rs 5.29 crore provided to 17,624 SHGs in Puri district.
(During the Make in Odisha conclave last year, the Chief Minister had announced to provide smart phones to six lakh women SHGs in a bid to empower them digitally and further accelerate their sociopolitical and economic empowerment.)
This apart, the Chief Minister announced that a revolving fund of Rs 25 lakh would be given to 338 existing block federations in the State.
He also announced that a Mission Shakti house would be constructed in each GP for SHGs and Anganwadi Workers and Helpers would be provided incentives of Rs 500 and Rs 200 respectively.
A provision of Rs 20.09 crore has been made to provide incentives to Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, he said.
More than 60,000 members from 29,000 women SHGs from various places from across the State attended the programme. Some SHG members shared their projects and experiences from the stage.
At the outset, Mission Shakti Director Sujata Kartikeyan had delivered the welcome address and Women Cooperative Development Corporation Chairperson Shrimayee Mishra proposed a vote of thanks in the end.
Notably, Patnaik skipped an official programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Baripada on the day and, instead, attended the State-level convention of women SHGs in Puri.