Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced that interest-free loan for women members of Mission Shakti will be increased up to Rs 5 lakh in a bid to further empower them.
The new loan system will be implemented with effect from April 2022. Earlier, loans up to Rs 3 lakh were disbursed without any interest.
Describing the increase in zero interest loan as a revolutionary step, the Chief Minister said through this the Mission Shakti women members can establish themselves as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from Self Help Groups (SHG) and can take higher loans to launch big business.
Hailing women as an important part in the transformation of Odisha, Naveen said today’s decision will play a major role in further empowering them and promoting the local economy.
Stating that the goal of the state government is to make Mission Shakti members small and medium entrepreneurs, he said a programme has been adopted to provide loans of about Rs 50,000 crore to Mission Shakti groups in the next 5 years.
Naveen expressed the hope that the mothers of Mission Shakti would be able to establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs.
“As per our promise, the state government has provided Rs 4000 crore business to Mission Shakti Maa in the last 3 years,” the Chief Minister said, adding that over Rs 17,000 crore have been provided to Mission Shakti SHGs in last 5 years.
Describing Mission Shakti as an innovative initiative towards women empowerment, the Chief Minister said that it has brought together 70 lakh women of the state through 6 lakh Self Help Groups.
To take the movement further, the government has set up a special Mission Shakti Department and all SHG programs are being implemented through this department, he said.
On June 1, 2020, Mission Shakti Department was established and all the SGH programmes were brought under one department.
