Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy deposited Rs 1,353.76 crore as interest reimbursement under the YSR Sunna Vaddi scheme at a programme in Janupalli village of Amalapuram mandal in the B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district on Friday.
This would benefit 1.05 crore women from 9.48 lakh self-help groups.
Addressing a large gathering, the Chief Minister said the government was implementing the YSR Sunna Vaddi scheme since 2019. So far, Rs 4,969 crore has been deposited directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary women.
He criticised the previous Telugu Desam government, saying it had failed to fulfil a promise to waive loans worth Rs 14,205 crore for SHG women. He blamed former CM Chandrababu Naidu for abolishing the Sunna Vaddi scheme in October, 2016.
The CM said this resulted in a steep hike in the loan burden of these women, up to Rs 25,571 crore by April, 2019 in addition to their credit rating falling down from A and B grades to C and D. As a result, 18.36 per cent of SHG loans turned into non-performing assets, he noted.
He said that after the YSRC took power in 2019, the government came up with several schemes including the YSR Aasara, YSR Sunna Vaddi and YSR Cheyutha and these helped the SHG women to mostly overcome the problem of loans turning into NPAs. The loan recovery rate had also gone up to 99.67 per cent, he said.
Jagan Mohan Reddy claimed AP has become a role model in registering the highest loan recovery rate in the country.
Drawing a comparison on the strength of SHG women in the state, he said that they numbered only 90 lakh during the TD term. This went up to 1.16 crore by now. The government even persuaded bankers to bring down the interest rate on loans to SHG women to 8.5/9.5 per cent from the previous 12/14 per cent.
“We had also launched the YSR Aasara scheme to bring down the debt burden on women, to make them happy and help them stand on their own feet, realising the goal of their financial sustenance in the last four years of the YSRC rule.”
The CM listed a series of schemes launched for the benefit especially of women, like the Amma Vodi, YSR Cheyutha, YSR Kapu Nestham, YSR EBC Nestham, YSR Aasara, YSR Sunna Vaddi, Vidya Deevena, Vasathi Deevena etc on along with a raise in the quantum of funds allotted for each scheme.
“Nowhere else in the country had 30 lakh land pattas registered in the name of women and 22 lakh houses being constructed on such lands under a government initiative as in AP.”
He appreciated how the village/ward volunteer system was helping the pensioners receive their monthly pension of Rs 2,750 on the first of every month from a volunteer at their doorstep.
The CM said, “Our government is partial towards women. In the last four years of our rule, Rs 2.31 lakh crore was given to them under various schemes as part of Navaratnalu. As we are committed to empower women in the 21st Century, we are reaching out to them by launching a series of schemes to empower them.”
