VIJAYAWADA: AP’s Rural Development Department and Rural Poverty Eradication Organization (SERP) won three Skoch awards. They included the Skoch platinum award to YSR Pension Kanuka; the gold award to YSR Cheyutha Mahila Marts and the silver award to “SERP-Institutional Building for Capacity Building (IB Section).”
SERP chief executive officer A. Md Imtiaz received the awards at an impressive ceremony in New Delhi on Saturday.
Imtiaz stated that the most prestigious platinum award was given to YSR Pension Kanuka, the flagship programme of YSRC Navaratnalu. The role of SERP in implementing this scheme on behalf of the state government cannot be overlooked as it is committed to the welfare and development of all sections of the society.
Regarding Skoch gold award for YSR Cheyutha Mahila Mart, Imtiaz stated that this enables women- initiative policies to formulate and set up chain retail malls. With the collective investments and joint ventures to facilitate entry of women into the retail sector and to provide quality essential commodities to the villagers at lower than market prices, the women of savings societies have invested without any government share.
The silver award to SERP-Institutional Building for Capacity Building (IB Section) is in recognition of the pivotal role and many successes it achieved. It has formed 8.49 lakh self-help societies among 90 lakh women and 27,420 gram samakhyas at the village level. It has been continuously working to increase support, awareness, skills and capabilities of women in order to establish them as district federations, connecting all of them to mandal federations in 660 mandals.
