Make in Odisha: Naveen to gift mobile phones to six lakh women in SHGs

Odisha Government on Wednesday announced to gift smartphones to six lakh women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to make them digitally empowered.

Published: 15th November 2018 07:25 AM  |   Last Updated: 15th November 2018 07:25 AM   |  A+A-

CM Naveen Patnaik addressing the women entrepreneurship at Make-in-Odisha conclave (Photo:ENS)

By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR:  Odisha Government on Wednesday announced to gift smartphones to six lakh women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to make them digitally empowered.Emphasising on promotion of women entrepreneurship on the fourth day of Make-in-Odisha conclave 2018 on Wednesday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said his dream is to see that every woman has access to knowledge economy.

“As a first step, my Government will digitally empower all groups with a smartphone under the Mission Shakti programme. Whenever we have made an initiative,  whether Mamata or Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana or land rights, the State always runs extra mile for women,” he said.

The announcement came a day after Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Mukesh Ambani said here that his company was working on an initiative in the State to integrate several lakh women with the digital mainstream.  Naveen showered praises on SHGs for making Odisha proud with their contribution to the economy and said his Government is committed to all-round development of women in the State.

Stating that women empowerment was something ‘very close’ to his heart, the Chief Minister said no household, no society, no State and no country has ever moved forward without empowering its women.
“Women in the State have come a long way in various fields and the next ceiling to be broken is the digital one. Digital empowerment will further accelerate the socio-political and economic empowerment of women,” he said.

As a Government, Naveen said, many things, including infrastructure development,  gets top priority. “But whenever we have done anything for women, it has had the maximum impact for the State and given me greatest personal satisfaction,” he added.Mission Shakti project was started in the State in 2001. It has transformed into a movement with 70 lakh women in six lakh groups having `5,000 crore savings and `2,000 crore annual bank exposure.

“Since I assumed office in 2000, my Government has always been conscious of the great role that women can play in a State like Odisha which had challenging socio-economic indicators. Now there is no habitation in the State without an SHG and almost every second household has a member of such groups,” the Chief Minister said.

Appreciating that repayment of loan by SHGs is more than 95 per cent, he urged bankers to meet the credit requirement of the groups in a dignified and professional manner.Naveen released a photo book on Mission Shakti and a brochure on enabling provisions that the State has for women entrepreneurs. He also announced loans at concessional rate for them.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp



Comments

Disclaimer : We respect your thoughts and views! But we need to be judicious while moderating your comments. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. Try to avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines.

The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time.

flipboard facebook twitter whatsapp