GUWAHATI: Towards the development at the grassroots level and fulfilling the aspiration of women in the state, the state government has dispersed a huge amount of funding over the last two years for self-help groups in the state of Assam. With the development of women entrepreneurs in mind, the state government decided to increase the credit linkage to self-help groups by 65 per cent in the last two years.
Keeping in mind the requirements of the about 3.35 self-help groups in the state, the state government has allocated financial support with a total of Rs 5078 Cr disbursed by the government to date. This also puts the state at the top of the list of states in the country in terms of credit linkage to self-help groups. Around 38.2 lakh women entrepreneurs in the state have benefited from this scheme as of now.
The Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) has registered a total of 3.35 lakh Self-Help Groups, 19005 village organisations and 749 cluster-level federations covering more than 38 lakh women in the state. These organisations work in various fields ranging from agriculture to food production and education to small industries.
In the previous financial year alone, the state had disbursed Rs 3208 Cr to a total of 1.32 lakh self-help groups out of which a total of 21.17 lakh members were in the field of Agroecological services and products.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Engineering Minister Jayanta Mallabaurah officially inaugurated the first Jal Shala under the Jal Doot programme at Pachariya in the Kamrup District. This programme aims to develop a community-based voluntary system that carries out necessary assessments regarding water supply schemes.
It aims to create young dedicated volunteers called Jal Doots among students belonging to Classes VIII to XII as agents of change in their communities. Launching the initiative, the minister said that it was unique to the state of Assam and the country will soon replicate the same. He added that this initiative will not only encourage the children to work for the community but also inculcate leadership qualities among them.
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