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PM Modi aims to promote women of SHGs, upscale cooperatives
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he aims to turn 20 million women associated with self-help groups into ‘lakhpatis’ over the next three years
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he aims to turn 20 million women associated with self-help groups (SHGs) into ‘lakhpatis’ over the next three years, adding that his government was working to make cooperatives a strong part of rural life and scaling them up in sectors such as agriculture and fisheries.
The comments came during a virtual interaction with the beneficiaries of various government programmes in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh as part of the ongoing ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’. The two-month yatra, which was kicked off by Modi on November 15, is a nationwide programme to reach out to citizens with the Centre’s welfare programmes. The campaign comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year, for which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre is pulling out all stops to ensure the saturation of its welfare schemes and a concerted awareness campaign about its achievements.
Modi said that in the past year, about 100 million sisters and daughters in the country joined SHGs. “These sisters and daughters have been provided assistance of more than ₹7.5 lakh crore by the banks. To further expand this campaign, I have set a target of creating two crore lakhpati didis in the next three years,” he said.
He then called out to an individual named Rubina Khan and asked whether she would help him in his efforts. When specifically asked how many women from her group she wanted to turn into a lakhpati, she replied: “I wish to make every woman in the country a lakhpati.”
As everyone present for the interaction burst into laughter, the PM quipped, “It (Rubina’s response) is a political reply.”
During his address, Modi also said that his government is “working to make cooperatives a strong part of rural life”. He asserted that cooperatives are being “scaled up massively in sectors like agriculture and fisheries after making a mark in fields such as dairy and sugar production”.
The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has reached hundreds of thousands of villages, Modi said. “It has not been even 50 days since the Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra was launched, but till now, this yatra has reached 2.25 lakh villages. This is a record in itself… the aim of the Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra is to reach that person who, due to some reason, has been deprived of the schemes of the Government of India,” he said.
Through its proactive outreach, the government wants to ensure that the welfare schemes are available to everyone and without any discrimination, he said. “I am searching for people who have been left out.”
Modi said it was a great source of satisfaction for him to see the self-confidence of people when he interacted with them. “Every beneficiary across the country has a story about the changes in their lives in the last 10 years. It is a story full of courage,” he said.
“Today, millions are using the government schemes as a medium to move ahead,” he added.
He also said that wherever “Modi ki Guarantee ki Gaadi [car]” is going, it is increasing confidence and fulfilling the hopes of the people.
During the yatra, as many as 450,000 new applications have been filed for Ujjwala gas connection, 10 million Ayushman cards have been issued, 12.5 million health check-ups have been conducted, seven million people have been screened for tuberculosis, and 1.5 million sickle cell anaemia tests have been conducted, Modi said.
He said that simultaneous issuing of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA Card) will create medical records of the beneficiaries. “This will spread new awareness regarding health in the entire country,” he said.
Modi also interacted with other beneficiaries of government schemes. He greeted Harikrishan, a farmer from Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu, who has successfully embraced modern agricultural practices.
The event saw thousands of participants from various corners of the country, including Union ministers, MPs, MLAs, and local representatives.
