Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is keen on grooming the State into a “society without poverty”.
“We need to work together to create an egalitarian society and women can play a vital role in it,” he said on Tuesday at a meeting organised to launch ‘Self-Business Groups’, a first of its kind initiative in the country by the Andhra Bank.
Mr. Naidu said he wanted women to remain united and grow as a force to reckon with and recalled how he had conceived the concept of DWCRA groups years back to make women in the rural sector self-reliant. “Today these self-help groups are transforming into self-business groups thanks to the new scheme that envisages provision of finance in the form of working capital and term loan to a group or an individual up to ₹25 lakh,” he said.
The Pattabhi Sitaramayya-Self Business Group (PS-SBG) scheme commemorates the 138th birth anniversary of the bank’s founder Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya.
Mr. Naidu said women groups had earned a reputation of credible customers by ensuring timely repayment of their loans. “I have complete trust in these women groups that they would utilise the financial assistance given to them in the best possible way contributing to the financial independence of their families,” he said.
Mr. Naidu spoke at length on the various welfare programmes introduced for DWCRA women like loan waiver and said by March 2018 every member would construct a toilet.
He said 90 lakh women in the rural sector had formed 9,11744 self-help groups across the State while in the urban pockets, there were 19.74 lakh women in nearly 1.97 lakh SHGs. These groups had maintained 98% loan-repayment compliance rate.
Minister for SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) and Women Empowerment Paritala Sunitha, Managing Director and CEO of Andhra Bank Suresh N. Patel, Deputy Managing Director, NABARD, H.R. Dave, Executive Director of the bank Kulbhushan Jain, Krishna district Collector B. Lakshmikantham and others were present.
