HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday said that while the government has set itself a target of providing Rs 20,000 crore interest-free loans to Self-Help Group (SHG) women in a year, it has exceeded that amount and gave more than Rs 21,000 crore loans.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the STREE Summit 2.0, organised by the Hyderabad City Police in collaboration with the Women’s Forum of the Hyderabad City Security Council (HCSC), he said that ban on child marriages, demand for dowry, voting right, divorce, Acts like property rights for women came into effect thanks to Dr BR Ambedkar’s Hindu Code Bill in the country.
“In Telangana, the Congress government is working with the objective of empowering women. The government’s aim is to turn one crore women into crorepatis in five years,” he said.
Vikramarka also said that women were partners in the new green power policy introduced by the government to help them become entrepreneurs.
“Women are being encouraged to be part of solar power generation units. The Energy and other government departments entered into an MoU with women SHG groups for generation of 1,000 MW of solar power,” he said and added that “if this experiment is successful, then we will chalk out plans for solar power generation in a big way”.
“The state government also initiated a process to help women SHGs buy buses through bank loans and give those vehicles on lease to the RTC. This will help them in reaping financial benefits,” he said.
“The government is also providing opportunities to SHGs to set up Indira Shakti canteens in public sector enterprises in the state. These measures will help women become financially independent and strong,” he added.