Bhubaneswar: A separate Mission Shakti Department, which would strengthen the SHG initiatives and empower 80 lakh members through greater focus, synergy and resource mobilisation, will start functioning in Odisha from Monday.
“It will be dedicated to all the women of Odisha,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had said while addressing an event on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
The department is headed by two women – Minister Tukuni Sahi and IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan.
With this, Odisha will become the second state after West Bengal to have a separate department promoting self-employment opportunities through women SHGs.
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THE MISSION
Naveen had started the Mission Shakti programme, a year after becoming the CM in 2001, with the objective of organising women into SHGs for holistic empowerment and targeted livelihood activities. In April 2017, a separate directorate of Mission Shakti was created under the Women and Child Development Department.
After coming to power for the fifth consecutive time in 2019, the Naveen Patnaik-government had approved the provisioning of services and goods for different departments through Mission Shakti to improve the financial status of the members.
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Odisha has a little over six lakh SHGs, having 70 lakh members with Rs 5,000 crore savings and Rs 2,000 crore annual bank exposure.
IN THE TIMES OF COVID
Around 7000 SHGs were engaged as implementing partners under the Urban Wage Employment Initiative. The Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan helped urban women in slums and poor households earn through desilting of drains, construction of rainwater harvesting structures, plantations, recycling and reuse of waste, beautification of the city through wall painting and murals.
Around 400 SHGs manufactured over 3.3 million masks for distribution among people last year.
When dry ration and vegetable shops were shut in rural Odisha, the SHGs distributed more than 9 million cooked meals through the free kitchens managed by them in gram panchayats.
Also Read: 1.5 Crore People Served Cooked Food by Mission Shakti Members In Odisha
