Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched mega loan distribution programme of Odisha Gramya Bank (OGB) for self-help groups of Mission Shakti.
According to a release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the rural banks aims at disbursing loan amounting to Rs 1001 crore for 26,722 SHGs under the state government’s women empowerment programme Mission Shakti.
The chief minister started the programme by handing over Rs 10 lakh loan each to 5 Mission Shakti groups. Around 2.68 women members of the groups would benefit from the initiative.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the banks should come forward to help the government in its women empowerment programme by extending loans to members of Mission Shakti. The government plans to further extend the programme to each household in every village in future, he added.
Naveen further said his government has decided to create a revolving fund of Rs 1 crore for every district-level federation of the SHGs and Rs 50 lakh for block-level federation. It would help women get loan upto Rs 5 lakh without any interest, he added.
The chief minister also flagged off 5 Multi-Purpose Mobile Van-cum-ATMs on the occasion.
Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari, Minister of Women and Children Welfare Basanti Hembram, secretary, Mission Shakti department Sujata Kartikeyan and chairman of Odisha Gramya Bank Mohan M also spoke at the event.
