28-05-2025
Women's empowerment through SHGs emphasised
Ongole: Prakasamdistrict collector A Thameem Ansariya conducted a comprehensive review meeting with DRDA officials, bank representatives, and Self-Help Group (SHG) members on 'Annual Credit and Livelihood Action Plan 2025-26', to discuss the implementation of various loan schemes for the financial year, at the Collectorate here on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the collector emphasised the government's commitment to women's economic empowerment and social development through strengthened SHG initiatives. She announced that the government has formulated an action plan to provide comprehensive support to SHG women through various loan schemes.
She stressed that at least one woman from each family should become a businesswoman to ensure widespread economic participation. Rather than focusing solely on individual needs, the emphasis should be on collective welfare activities that benefit the entire community, she added. Addressing the banking sector's role, the collector instructed bank officials to coordinate effectively with DRDA to facilitate smooth loan disbursement processes. She advised the bank officials to utilise 10 percent of the SHGs' deposits for funding viable projects, ensuring that loans reach deserving beneficiaries.
The Collector revealed that under the women entrepreneur development programme, 1720 units have been made available in the district, with approximately 1,720 women having received support from the government up to the 5th standard level. She mentioned that applications for loans worth approximately Rs 23 crore have been received from officials and instructed banks to expedite the approval process.
The Collector, along with other officials and bank representatives, reviewed the annual loan scheme framework for 2025-26.
DRDA Project Director Narayana mentioned that the PMME scheme provides opportunities for establishing various units, and DRDA officials were instructed to provide guidance accordingly. He said that DRDA offers special support for individual loans to SHG women. He assured that banks need not have concerns about loan recovery, as the track record has been satisfactory.
Joint Collector R Gopala Krishna, DRDA Additional Project Directors, and officials from various banks attended the programme.
