PM chats with N Joicee during interaction with women SHGs
Source: Chronicle News Service / PIB
Imphal, August 12 2021:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 'Atmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad' and interacted with women Self Help Group (SHG) members/community resource persons promoted under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-Na-tional Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) via video conferencing on Thursday.
The Prime Minister also interacted with Ningthoujam Joicee of D Plailian village, Churachandpur district whose father works as a construction labourer.
In 2021, she joined the DDU-GKY training programme and went for training in the trade of Food & Beverage Service.
She has been employed as a steward in Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon.
Talking of her future plans, Joicee informed that she has been selected for Super Eats - Lite Bite Foods Unit, Dubai, UAE.
Her expected salary will be AED 2,400 per month (approximately Rs 50,000) plus insurance, tickets, and annual leave, she said.
During the event, a compendium of success stories of women SHG members from all across the country, along with a handbook on universalisation of farm livelihoods was released by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister also released capitalisation support funds to the tune of Rs 1625 Crore to over 4 lakh SHGs.
In addition, he released Rs 25 crore as seed money for 7500 SHG members under the PMFME (PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) Scheme of Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Rs 4.13 crore as funds to 75 FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) being promoted under the Mission.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister lauded the Self-Help Groups of women for their unprecedented services during the Corona period and recognised their unparalleled contribution in making masks and sanitizers and providing food to the needy and spreading awareness.
The Prime Minister said that to increase the scope of entrepreneurship among women and for greater participation in the resolve of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, a major financial support has been given today to more than 4 lakh SHGs on the eve of Raksha Bandhan.
He said that the SHGs and Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana have brought a new revolution in rural India.
This movement of women SHGs has intensified in the last 6-7 years.
Today there are 70 lakh SHGs across the country which is more than three times the figure during 6-7 years.
The Prime Minister recalled the time before this government when crores of the sisters did not have a bank account, they were miles away from the banking system.
That is why the government started the massive campaign to open Jan Dhan accounts, he said and added that today there are more than 42 crore Jan Dhan accounts of which close to 55 per cent of the accounts are of women.
He said the bank accounts were opened to make it easy to take loans from banks.
Modi said that the amount of help the government has provided for the sisters under the National Livelihood Mission is many times more than the previous government.
An unsecured loan of about Rs 4 lakh crore has also been made available to self-help groups.
He said in the last 7 years self-help groups have also done a great job of repaying banks.
There was a time when bank loans close to 9 per cent became NPA.
Now it has come down to 2-3 per cent.
He lauded the honesty of the women in the SHG.
The Prime Minister also announced that now the limit for loans available to SHGs without guarantee has been doubled to Rs 20 lakh.
Condition of linking savings accounts with the loan account has also been done away with, he said.