MARGAO
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday batted for Lakhpati Didi to empower women in rural areas, as he has set a target of two lakh Lakhpati Didis in the State.
After inaugurating the mini-SARAS festival at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao on Monday, the Chief Minister said he had been told that the RDA had shortlisted around 11,000 Lakhpati Didis in the State so far.
“The self-help groups provide huge opportunities for rural women to increase their income. The figure of 11,000 Lakhpati Didis in Goa is a good thing, but I feel we should try and make around two lakh women Lakhpati Didis,” he said.
Saying that a whole lot of opportunities are available for women to increase their income, the Chief Minister said that the Prime Minister's Viksit Bharat and Swayanpurna Goem initiatives have taken various government schemes to the doorsteps of the people, especially women.
“The women under the SHGs can avail themselves of loan facilities from the PM’s Mission. Under the schemes, you need not even get a surety, but you stand as your own guarantor. At the recent interaction with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, two Lakhptti Didis were sitting with me. And I was impressed by their success stories,” he said.
He added: “One woman told me that she is running a canteen at Mapusa and has earned an income of more than one lakh. The other lady informed me that she is in the production of Kunbi sarees and shawls. She has even gone on a tour of Malaysia and Singapore as part of her business. Other women should emulate the success of these two Lakpatti Didis and increase their income through their respective self-help groups.”
