Chief Minister Made Big Announcements for Self-Help Group

• 19 Jun 2023

Why in News?

On June 17, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal made several major announcements while interacting directly with the beneficiaries of self-help groups through audio conferencing.

Key Points:

• The Chief Minister said that out of all the ration depots allotted in the state in future, the government has decided to allot 33 percent depots to women. If any self-help group applies for a ration depot, it will be given priority.
• Apart from this, if the self-help group applies for the contract of fish farming of panchayat land or pond, then it will be given a discount of 10 percent in the auction amount.
• Even at the bus stand, 25 percent of the shops allotted through lottery or any other method will be reserved for self-help groups. If these shops are allotted through auction, the SHG will get a 10 percent discount on the auction amount.
• If the family income of a member of the self-help group increases by more than Rs 1.80 lakh, then their ration card and Ayushman card will not be deducted for 1 year.
• The Chief Minister said that a call centre would be set up in the office of the Haryana State Rural Livelihood Mission so that the beneficiaries belonging to the self-help groups could get various types of information.
• It is known that in the year 2014, the number of self-help groups in the state was 812. In the year 2014-15, the state government paid attention to self-help groups and in the first year itself 2100 new self-help groups were formed and at present there are a total of 57,376 self-help groups in the state.
• They have been provided Rs 54 crore 57 lakh revolving fund, about Rs 285 crore community investment fund and about Rs 880 crore bank credit linkage. In addition, the state government has increased the amount of the revolving fund from Rs 10 thousand to Rs 20 thousand.
• The Chief Minister said that by joining SHGs, women are not only taking care of their families by adopting self-employment but also providing employment opportunities to other women. That's why it would be meaningful to call them 'Social Help Group' instead of Self Help Group.
• Women associated with the 'Haryana State Rural Livelihood Mission' have been honoured by various institutions and organizations for their commendable work & contribution to society. Pooja Sharma, a resident of village Chandu in district Gurugram, was awarded the 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' by the President on the occasion of International Women's Day 2022.
• During the conversation, the Chief Minister ordered the officials to develop a portal on which information about the products made by the self-help groups would be uploaded. By certifying the quality of these products, a brand identity should be given, so that people can buy Self Help Group products through this portal.
• To make the products made by self-help groups available in the market, a program has been made to organize Swapan Aajeevika Mart and Saras Mela throughout the year. Under this, on the occasion of Teej and Diwali, Swapan Aajeevika Marts are organized at the subdivision level in the entire state.
• Arrangements have been made to provide various types of training for SHGs in the state. 773 women are working as bank facilitators after getting computer training and passing out from the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance.
• Apart from this, the state government is promoting 'One Block One Product' under the 'Padma Scheme' to give national and international recognition to the products made by SHGs.
• Under the Tailoring Training Scheme, the amount of Rs 150 given for purchasing raw material has been increased to Rs 300 and the monthly allowance of Rs 100 has been increased to Rs 600. Under this scheme, sewing machines are also given after training. Since November 2014 till now 9,921 beneficiaries have been given incentive amount of Rs 5 crore 85 lakh 53 thousand.
• In order to provide alternative sources of livelihood to the members of self-help groups, an interest-free amount of Rs 5 crore 41 lakh has been made available to 149 beneficiaries for vehicles under the Aajeevika Gramin Express Yojana.