Finance
In order to strengthen the Mission Shakti program in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced today that loans of up to Rs 5 lakh will be made available to them without interest (zero interest). This new loan system will go into effect in April 2022. Previously, loans up to Rs 3 lakh were disbursed interest-free.
The Chief Minister described this as a revolutionary step, saying that through this, Mission Shakti women members can establish themselves as SME or Small and Medium Enterprises from SHG and can take larger loans to start large businesses.
The Chief Minister stated that women play an important role in Odisha’s transformation. He stated that today’s decision will have a significant impact on their empowerment and the local economy.
The Chief Minister stated that the state government’s goal is to make Mission Shakti members small and medium entrepreneurs, and that a program has been implemented to provide loans of approximately Rs 50 thousand crore to Mission Shakti groups over the next five years.
He hoped that Mission Shakti’s mothers would be able to establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs.
“According to our promise, the State government has provided Rs 4000 crore business to Mission Shakti Maa in the last 3 years,” the Chief Minister said. “In addition, over 17 thousand crore rupees have been provided to Mission Shakti SHGs in the last 5 years.”
The Chief Minister described Mission Shakti as an innovative initiative for women’s empowerment, claiming that it has brought together 70 lakh women in the state through 6 lakh Self Help Groups.
To further the movement, his government has established a special Mission Shakti Department, through which all SHG programs are implemented, he said.
On June 1, 2020, the Mission Shakti Department was established, and all of the state’s SGH programs were consolidated under one department.
Source: OCN
