Revanth Asks Women to Take up Bigger Businesses

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday virtually laid foundation stones for the construction of 8,000 Indira Gandhi Stree Shakti Bhavans across all districts, which would serve as permanent platforms for training, business planning and financial activities of women Self Help Groups (SHGs). He asked the women groups to take up large-scale businesses.

Launching the state-wide Women’s Week celebrations from the Secretariat, the Chief Minister asserted that the state government’s goal was to create one crore women millionaires in Telangana by 2034 and asked women groups to move beyond small-scale livelihood activities.

The Chief Minister urged the women SHGs to enter large-scale businesses such as rice mills, mandal-level warehouses and logistics parks. He assured that the government was ready to allocate land wherever required and, if necessary, would provide up to 100 acres for such ventures.

The Chief Minister announced that the bank linkage loan limit for women SHGs would be enhanced from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh. He said the state government had so far facilitated bank linkage loans worth Rs.60,472 crore for women SHGs and had already paid Rs.1,390 crore towards interest-free loans.

Addressing women SHG members through videoconferencing, Revanth Reddy said the people’s government was committed to making women’s empowerment a model for the country. “If women become financially strong, families become stable; if families are stable, villages become stronger; and if villages prosper, Telangana will develop,” he said.

Revanth Reddy said the role of women SHGs in procurement, storage and milling of paddy should increase substantially. The government would take steps to enable SHGs to directly procure paddy and supply rice to the government. He said women would ensure transparency and accountability in the system by treating every grain with responsibility.

The Chief Minister also proposed the establishment of corporate-style Mahila Shakti Super Bazaars under the management of women SHGs to compete with retail chains. He said the government was ready to lease land at concessional rates in urban areas for setting up such supermarkets. The objective was to ensure quality products for consumers, better market access for farmers and income generation for women SHGs.

He said the state government would also become a stakeholder in Mahila Shakti Super Bazaars so that quality agricultural produce, organic products and essential commodities from farmers could directly reach consumers. Improved market access for rural products would benefit farmers, consumers and women SHGs alike, he added.

He further stated that with the aim of turning women into owners of buses, the government had initiated a programme under which women SHGs would purchase 1,000 buses and lease them to RTC. As part of this initiative, 553 buses would be launched at Parade Grounds on June 5.

Revanth Reddy also said the state government was taking steps to establish 1,000 MW solar energy plants, changing the perception that only large corporate groups such as Adanis and Ambanis dominate the energy sector. He said women SHGs were also being made partners in petrol bunk businesses and that fuel stations were being established under their management at district headquarters and important locations.

Praising the financial discipline of women SHGs across the state, Revanth Reddy said that while several big businessmen and large companies had defaulted on bank loans worth thousands of crores and fled, women SHGs in Telangana were setting an example by honestly repaying every rupee borrowed from banks.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Seethakka, Duddilla Sridhar Babu and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Rajya Sabha member Vem Narender Reddy, government advisor Harkara Venu Gopal, Women’s Commission Chairperson Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, MLAs, chairpersons of various corporations and senior officials attended the programme.