BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday unveiled the e-Market portal for SHG products and announced that every district in the state will have a Mission Shakti Bhawan to strengthen the movement of empowering women and boost rural economy.
Launching a slew of initiatives, Naveen said that Mission Shakti Bhawan will be built at the state-level and in all districts which will get Rs 1 crore each for the infrastructure. “Launched 20 years ago, the mission has become a huge movement for 70 lakh women across the state. Odisha is the only state which has created a separate Mission Shakti department. Every panchayat will have a Mission Shakti house where women members can exchange ideas and discuss their future strategy,” he said.
As the Cabinet has decided to provide Rs 5,000 crore of business to Mission Shakti groups annually, the Chief Minister said 21 departments have started providing works to the SHG groups. “Besides, loans worth around Rs 6,000 crore have been disbursed to the groups so far this financial year and interest subvention of Rs 200 crore released,” Naveen said and thanked banks for coming forward to support the groups.
He laid the foundation stone for the Mission Shakti market at SIRD campus in Bhubaneswar and emphasised on the proper marketing of SHG products. The e-Market portal developed for the purpose will enable Mission Shakti members to sell their products across the globe and fetch value for their products. The Mission Shakti markets will be set up across the state, he said.
In a bid to empower women financially, self-help group bank partners will be given the responsibility in villages where no banking facility is available. The department has been asked to hold talks with the women members at regular intervals and resolve their issues at the earliest, the Chief Minister added.
Minister Tukuni Sahu, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, 5T Secretary VK Pandian and Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the department Sujata R Karthikeyan were present.