E-Paper
Makeover for banking Sakhis: UP to provide NIFT-designed sarees as uniforms
The Yogi Adityanath government is going to provide over 1 lakh sarees to BC-Sakhis designed by NIFT Rae Bareli
The Yogi Adityanath government is going to provide over 1 lakh sarees to BC-Sakhis designed by NIFT Rae Bareli.
The UP government will provide two handloom sarees to the women working under the BC Sakhi scheme as a uniform, to promote the handloom industry. For this, the government will buy the sarees made by handloom weavers, said a government statement on Thursday.
The designs sent by NIFT have already been approved by the chief minister and the work of weaving the sarees is in progress. The cost of each saree amounts to ₹1934.15 and a fund of ₹22,43,61,400 has been released to the department for 1.16 lakh sarees and dress materials, said the statement.
The move of the UP government to procure handloom sarees for BC-Sakhis will serve the twin purpose of empowering women and creating vast employment opportunities for handloom weavers in the state,
BC-Sakhis are 58,000 women banking correspondents in each panchayat of the state who facilitate easy online banking transactions for people in villages.
Weavers involved in the work will be given ₹750 per saree as wages through direct banking transactions (DBT), said the statement.
According to a statement, KP Verma, MD, UP Handloom, said “Each of the 58,000 women working as BC- Sakhi will be given two saris each by the government”.
The UP Handloom department has engaged five producer companies in this regard, of which, three are from Varanasi district and one each from Mau and Azamgarh, the statement said.
UP Handloom has already made a payment of ₹1.20 crore to almost 537 weavers and over 12,837 sarees are ready.
According to KP Verma, “Due to the adverse economic conditions as a result of Covid-19, a crisis of employment had arisen for the weavers. Through this scheme, employment has been provided to the weaver. Also, the scheme has eliminated the role of middlemen and the money is being directly transferred into their bank account. The weavers covered by the scheme are getting maximum benefit and as a result, other handloom weavers are also getting attracted towards the scheme and enrolling themselves with the producer companies.”
On May 21, 2020, the Uttar Pradesh Government announced a proposal to induct 58,000 BC Sakhis, one for every existing Gram Panchayat. This is expected to create an enormous effect by virtually establishing a one-stop solution for all banking needs of every local household at its doorstep. At present, the Department of Rural Development is conducting a thorough selection and recruitment process based on a robust mobile app-based mechanism.
The incorporation of SHG members as BC Sakhis helps in ensuring financial inclusion, timely capitalisation, digitisation of SHG transactions, and overall development of the community. It further strengthens the objective of building the entrepreneurial abilities of women.
