Saras Food Festival-2022

• 31 Oct 2022

Why in News?

Recently, Saras Food Festival, 2022 has been organized in New Delhi to promote ethnic and home-made handicrafts, paintings, toys, etc., prepared by women of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

What is the Saras Food Festival?

• It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Rural Development as an effort to empower women on a large scale.
• Women from self-help groups, formed under the flagship program ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ of the Union Ministry of Rural Development are participating in this festival.
• This event will give women SHGs an opportunity to showcase their skills in the field of food making and introduce people to the food culture of our country.
  • These SHG women are proficient in making rural products and preparing traditional dishes of their states.
• The Ministry also launched the e-commerce portal for better and more effective marketing of Saras products prepared by women of self-help groups.
  • There are about 8 crore 62 lakh women who are members of SHGs and they have presence in 97% of Blocks, while 85 % of them are directly connected with the network of the Ministry.
• Efforts are on to have at least 25% of all sales by women self-help groups through e-commerce portals annually.
• The Ministry will take steps to establish Saras stalls by women SHGs in all State capitals, major cities and metros, airports and railway stations for widening the reach of marketing.

What are Self-Help Groups (SHGs)?

• About:
  • SHGs are informal associations of people who choose to come together to find ways to improve their living conditions.
  • It can be defined as a self-governed, peer-controlled information group of people with similar socio-economic backgrounds and having a desire to collectively perform a common purpose.
  • SHG relies on the notion of “Self Help” to encourage self-employment and poverty alleviation.
• Objectives:
  • To build the functional capacity of the poor and the marginalized in the field of employment and income generating activities.
  • To resolve conflicts through collective leadership and mutual discussion.
  • To provide collateral free loan with terms decided by the group at the market driven rates.
  • To work as a collective guarantee system for members who propose to borrow from organised sources.
  • The poor collect their savings and save it in banks. In return they receive easy access to loans with a small rate of interest to start their micro unit enterprise.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question

Q. How does the National Rural Livelihood Mission seek to improve livelihood options of rural poor? (2012)

1. By setting up a large number of new manufacturing industries and agribusiness centres in rural areas
2. By strengthening ‘self-help groups’ and providing skill development
3. By supplying seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-sets and micro-irrigation equipment free of cost to farmers

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only             
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (b)
Exp:

• The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) is a poverty alleviation project implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development. This scheme is focused on promoting self-employment and organization of rural poor. The basic idea behind this programme is to organize the poors into SHGs (Self Help Groups) and make them capable for self-employment.
• Pillars of NRLM
  • Enhancing and expanding existing livelihood options of the poor;
  • Building skills for the job market outside;
  • Nurturing self-employed and entrepreneurs. Hence, 2 is correct.
• The Mission neither focuses on setting up a large number of new manufacturing industries, nor agribusiness centres in rural areas. Its objective is not to supply seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-sets and micro-irrigation equipment. Hence, 1 and 3 are not correct.
• Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Source: PIB