ABOUT 10,000 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) working under various schemes and departments are expected to participate in the State-level convention to be organised by the Rural Development Department on February 10 at the Lal Parade Grounds. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will inaugurate the convention.
Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development and Public Relations Narendra Singh Tomar, Women and Child Development Minister Kusum Singh, Forest and Transport Minister Himmat Kothari, Agriculture Minister Chandrabhan Singh, PHE Minister Rampal Singh and Minister of State for Panchayat and Rural Development Gangaram Patel would be prominently present.
About three lakh SHGs are functioning in the State under various departments and various schemes, 2.41 lakh of these having been constituted under the Swarna Jayanti Gramin Rojgar Yojana. Rs 535 crore were spent on the training and provision of resources to 14,000 SHGs and loans worth Rs 1,100 crore were facilitated for them.
The main objective of the convention is to give identity to these groups at the State-level and to facilitate discussions and sharing of experiences among representatives of these groups so that they could strengthen themselves.
During the convention, the groups would be provided training with aim of getting them organised and facilitate group activities. Apart from holding interactions within themselves, the representatives would also hold discussions with resource persons.
{{/usCountry}}During the convention, the groups would be provided training with aim of getting them organised and facilitate group activities. Apart from holding interactions within themselves, the representatives would also hold discussions with resource persons.
{{/usCountry}}The groups would also share experiences on backward and forward linkage products and their marketing. A government release said that the State Government is hoping to give the activities of the SHGs a shape of mass revolution so that these groups could become vehicle for social and economic change in rural areas.
The main function would be held at the Motilal Nehru Stadium at Lal Parade Grounds. An exhibition would also be held on the occasion at which a stall each would be allotted to every district. Simultaneously, a fair would be held at Bhopal Haat, where the SHGs would display their products for sale.