Varanasi: The women self help group (SHG) of Varanasi was adjudged the best among the SHGs, and felicitated with the first prize at a function of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Uttar Pradesh Rajya Rin Sangosthi 2020-21 organized at the regional office in Lucknow on February 10, 2020.
The function was attended by the Finance Minister of UP Suresh Khanna, and additional chief secretary SK Mittal. The function was presided over by the chief general manager Shankar A Pandey. Farmer and women associated with different SHGs from various districts were felicitated on the occasion for their outstanding contributions to agriculture and farming related areas.
According to Anuj Kumar Singh, DDM, NABARD, Varanasi, the president of Ujala SHG of Chiraigaon in Varanasi Sarita Devi was given first prize. Under the NBARD’s E-Shakti scheme Chanda Maurya was also given first prize for her outstanding work. Besides, Jamaluddin Ansari and Madhuri Singh of Varanasi based Human Welfare Association (HWA) run by Padma Shri Dr Rajni Kant were also felicitated for linking the SHGs with livelihood programmes.
The HWA has been working for the cause of deprived class of the society including weavers, artisans and women for last 26 years. According to Dr Rajni Kant, about 8000 women are directly associated with HAW’s economic self-dependence campaign in Varanasi. The HWA has also done remarkable job in getting Geographical Indication (GI) certificates to several goods, for which it was also felicitated with National Intellectual Propert Award by the union minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2017.
The women SHGs in Varanasi have been engaged in several income-generating activities like floriculture, horticulture, vegetable cultivation, dairy, fruit cultivation, poultry farming, vending and so forth. HWA facilitates over 200 SHGs with over 2500 members in three blocks of Varanasi including Kashi Vidyapeeth, Cholapur and Chiraigaon.
The savings of these SHGs were in lakhs of rupees, and their inter-loaning accumulative figure was over Rs 1 crore. The members of SHGs can take loan from the group for expanding business or some emergency. Each transaction of money is recorded in the register maintained by the group itself. The striking thing is that the SHG members expand their business with their own savings while the government has been providing loans and subsidy to the SHGs under the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). The Union Bank of India, under its Rural Training Centre (RTC), has also supported a course of fashion designing and garment making to provide vocational training to Muslim and dalit girls and women.
