Tribal girls of the Rampachodavaram Agency area have set an example for women empowerment by choosing a different sector, of making LED bulbs.
The girls, with minimum qualifications but with high skills, took up the challenge with the support of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA). The agency picked up about 60 girls and set up the first LED manufacturing unit at Rampachodavaram. The unit — ‘Rampa Girijana Mahila Samakhya’ — has started manufacturing LED bulbs, tube lights and street-lights.
The products are sold under the brand name Twilite LED (Trained Women in LED).
Kollapureddy Veera Lakshmi of the Kondareddy tribe is Chief Executive Officer of the project.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Lakshmi, an engineering graduate, explained that about 60 girls from Agency mandals such as Maredumilli, Rampachdodavaram, Devipatnam, Gangavaram, Addatheegala and Rajavommangi who completed Intermediate in the science stream were trained for two months.
Spectrum Tech Vision a Bengaluru-based unit, is providing technical support and raw material for the unit. Executive technician Veeranjaneya said that the unit is having the capacity to manufacture about 4,000 bulbs in two shifts per day.
To ensure quality, highest standards are being followed. He maintained that electrostatic discharge material such as slippers, apron, wrist strap, mat, nose mask, cap and goggles are being used in the unit.
ITDA Project Officer K.V.N Chakradhar Babu, the brain behind the initiative, responded readily when Ms. Lakshmi approached him for employment.
Mr. Chakradhar Babu released Rs. 20 lakh towards purchase of raw material and constituted the Samakhya for the purpose. He said that exim licence has been obtained to export the products. The target is to manufacture 1.20 lakh LED bulbs per month. The margin for each LED bulb and street-light would be Rs.15 and Rs. 1,500 respectively, he said.
Marketing facility
East Godavari Collector H. Arun Kumar along with A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy, CEO of State Energy Conservation Mission, recently visited the unit and agreed to create marketing facility for the women entrepreneurs.
It is planned to supply 1,00,000 LED bulbs per month to variousd users to make the unit viable and sustainable.
