Latest news with #Self-HelpGroup
Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Op Sindoor rakhis in demand
Prayagraj: This Raksha Bandhan , women associated with the 'Grihini' Self-Help Group (SHG), with the help of DUDA (District Urban Development Agency), have shaped over 45,000 eco-friendly rakhis made of cotton threads. The group in charge of the 'Grihini' Self-Help Group, Neera Agarwal, said that , "No chemical or any material that harms the skin has been used in these rakhis." Neera says that she also prepared a rakhi puja thali along, which has a good demand in the Rakshabandhan market. I DUDA's project officer, Pratibha Srivastava, says that there are 1,600 self-help groups in the Sangam city, and over 16,000 women are associated with them. This festival, these women prepared rakhis for Rakshabandhan after they were imparted training. Abha Singh, who is preparing rakhis from banana fibre thread, says that women have also prepared rakhis on the theme of Operation Sindoor, are in good demand in the market. The highest demand for such rakhis has come from the public representatives of the district. Orders for these rakhis have come from many social organisations. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
The Diplomat
3 days ago
- General
- The Diplomat
Self-Help Groups Are Transforming Women's Lives in India
For decades, men ruled the farms in Bihar. Now, it's women who are reshaping the agricultural economy. Young women who are part of one of Heifer International's Self-Help Groups support and learn from each other. Gunja Das and a younger assistant whom she is training to become a Community Agricultural Veterinary Entrepreneur. Gunja Das leaves her home on her scooter to travel to farms around the local area. Gunja Das, her husband and two children sit outside their home in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, India. Gunja Das stands behind the counter of her pharmacy, serving customers medicines for their farm animals. One of Heifer International's Self-Help Groups created to improve the literacy and basic mathematics of disadvantaged women in Bihar, India. 'I was always just my husband's wife. My father's daughter. The mother of my son.' Gunja Das cleared her throat. The air is thick and filled with dust in Muzaffarpur, a district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is one of India's most disadvantaged states, where 80 percent of the population work in farming and agriculture. 'I was a traditional housewife here, and I never left my home,' continued Das as her young children listened intently through a crack in her front door. 'My dream was to be able to send those two to a good middle school, where they could learn English.' Recent financial constraints, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, made her dream difficult to imagine. At the same time, extreme heat and unpredictable monsoon seasons were becoming more prevalent year on year, endangering Muzaffarpur's agricultural economy and the fragile livelihoods of millions of India's most vulnerable people. But Gunja Das received a lifeline. In 2022, she was invited to join a 'Self-Help Group' for women in her community. She recalled not knowing what it was and was wary of the invitation. Her husband, she said, was the one to encourage her to leave the home and attend the meeting. The Self-Help Group she was invited to was one of several hundred small, women-only community groups that have been created in Muzaffarpur by Heifer International, a non-profit organization working on the ground in Bihar to support the livelihoods of over 70,000 rural families. Heifer International had selected a local NGO partner called Pragati Gramin Vikas Samiti to help organize the Self-Help Groups. The aim was to identify specific problems facing rural women in agriculture and provide them with the support to overcome them. In Muzaffarpur, there was a shortage of qualified veterinary and animal workers, vital to protecting key value chains in the agrarian economy. Heifer International offered to train women to become Community Agricultural Veterinary Entrepreneurs, CAVEs for short. 'It was an exciting process to be a part of, but it had significant challenges,' said Randhir Kumar, a senior project manager at Heifer International in Bihar. 'Many women felt it would be too much responsibility for them, especially without the support of their husbands.' Other women were forbidden from attending further meetings by their husbands But for Gunja Das, the first meeting was 'life-changing.' She was selected to attend a seven-day residential training course led by veterinary professionals shortly after. While fearful and anxious about leaving her home and family for the first time in 11 years, she described how much she began to enjoy the 'intensive training in farmstock vaccinations, diagnosis, deworming, and animal care.' The gender divide in Bihar is stark. While 80 percent of the population work in agriculture, only 13 percent of landowners are women. The oppressive caste system has been part of Bihar's social fabric for centuries. For women belonging to the low Dalit caste like Gunja Das, there are societal barriers to education, medical care, and even basic employment. Modernization is needed to support the state's agricultural economy. Sonmani Choudhary, program director at Heifer International, explained that she thinks 'smallholder women should be the backbone of rural transformation in Bihar.' Centuries of extreme inequality within the state's agrarian economy have left a painful legacy that runs deeply through the roots of Bihar. Feudal governing since medieval times allowed the ruling nobility called Zamindars, to control vast swathes of land in Bihar. Wealthy high-caste landlords effectively owned the workers from the lower rungs of the caste system. Corruption combined with the deeply entrenched caste discrimination continued through the 20th century, with violent land disputes reaching fever pitch in the 1990s. Today, landless farming families belonging to a lower caste and often earning no more than enough to feed themselves have little option but to continue to live off the land they do not own. Pradeep Priyadarshi is the secretary of Pragati Gramin Vikas Samiti. He has advocated for land reform and gender equality for decades in Bihar. He explained: 'Before the Heifer project, nobody in the community knew Gunja Das' name. Few would even speak with her. Now 4,000 people here know who she is!' After several weeks of training provided by Heifer International, Gunja Das began treating animals in need of vaccination in her first week. 'I was travelling on a scooter, which Heifer organized across Muzaffarpur to treat animals. It made me nervous, but my confidence grew and grew,' she said. Last year, Gunja Das treated over 18,000 farm animals – from water buffaloes to lambs – across Bihar. Her work is so in-demand that she recently traveled to Jharkhand and Delhi to conduct workshops for animal care in both states. To date, Heifer International has trained more than 1,300 CAVEs like Gunja across India, Nepal, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Opening the front door to her home, Gunja's young children and husband joined her on her porch. 'Now, they call me Gunja's husband,' her husband said, with a broad smile. 'Being able to send my children to a good middle school is still one of my proudest achievements,' said Gunja Das, holding her husband's hand, before adding: 'And training other local young women, some not so much older than my daughter, to become veterinary entrepreneurs like me, is one of the most humbling experiences of my life.'
New Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath plans DWCRA Bazaar for SHG women
VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath, also known as Chinni, on Thursday said he would work towards establishing DWCRA Bazaars within the city limits to provide marketing platforms for products manufactured by Self-Help Group (SHG) women. He made the announcement during a special meeting with officials from the Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) at his office in Vijayawada. The MP said the government is formulating dedicated plans to promote entrepreneurship among youth and women. He added that he is also personally committed to public welfare through initiatives under his Kesineni Foundation. 'There are around 14,000 SHG groups in Vijayawada. We will provide them training through Common Facility Centres to strengthen their economic activities,' he said.
Hans India
21-06-2025
- Health
- Hans India
11 lakh people to perform yoga in Prakasam today
Ongole: Prakasamdistrict collector A Thameem Ansariya announced that Saturday's International Yoga Day programme will witness simultaneous yoga sessions at 6,458 locations across the district with approximately 11 lakh participants, and urged everyone to participate and make the programme successful. The collector Thameem Ansariya, SP AR Damodar, MLAs Damacharla Janardhana Rao and BN Vijay Kumar, Ongole mayor Gangada Sujatha, and others participated in the massive yoga programme with the members of Self Help Groups, at the Mini Stadium in Ongole on Friday. Under the guidance of Yoga Guru Patanjali Balasubrahmanyam, the officials and the people performed yogasanas together. The month-long Yogandhra campaign has been conducted state-wide since May 21 to create awareness about yoga among at the event, Ansariya informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu will participate in the main International Yoga Day programme scheduled in Visakhapatnam on June 21. She mentioned plans to create a Guinness World Record with 2 crore people across the state performing yoga simultaneously at 1.50 lakh locations in the state. She announced that 11 lakh people in Prakasam district have been registered for yoga and were provided training. She congratulated the Self-Help Group members and the district administration for their efforts. She also urged people to continue yoga practice as part of their daily routine, even after the International Yoga Day, to maintain good health. SP Damodar emphasised that the Yogandhra campaign was launched by the Chief Minister with the goal of achieving a healthy Andhra Pradesh by 2047. He highlighted that creating awareness about yoga, especially among women, would help ensure healthy families. He stressed that yoga provides both physical health and mental stability, encouraging everyone to practice it regularly. MLA Janardhana Rao noted that the United Nations declared June 21 as International Yoga Day in 2014 following a request by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recognising the importance of yoga, which originated in India. He mentioned that approximately 5 lakh people will participate in the main programme in Visakhapatnam with the Prime Minister. MLA Vijay Kumar spoke about the need for daily yoga practice to overcome the stress and problems of modern life, emphasising that good health is essential for achieving anything in life, as stated by the Chief Minister. The event featured the launch of a yoga song composed by singer Nukathoti Sarath Kumar and the release of brochures on drug control by district officials and public representatives. Various districtofficials, police officers, and Self-Help Group members attended the programme.
Hans India
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Rapido e-bikes distributed to SHG members
Anantapur: In a pioneering initiative aimed at empowering women, Rapido e-bikes were distributed to Self-Help Group (SHG) women members for the first time in India. The programme was launched under the aegis of MEPMA (Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas). The launch event was held at the Police Parade Grounds in Anantapur, and was formally inaugurated by MLA Daggubati and District Collector Dr Vinod Kumar V in the presence of MEPMA and municipal officials. As part ofthe scheme, 250 Rapido e-bikes have been sanctioned for Anantapur district. In the first phase, 20 e-bikes were distributed to selected women beneficiaries. 'This is an innovative step towards enablingwomen to achieve self-employment,' said MLA Daggubati while addressing the gathering. He added that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched this programme as a pro-women initiative, firmly committed to women's empowerment. Referring to the 'Thalliki Vandhanam' scheme, the MLA highlighted that: 'Under this scheme, a financial aid of ₹15,000 has been provided to every eligible household, unlike the previous regime which promised to give to all but delivered to only one person per family.' He emphasized that the government is implementing the scheme sincerely with a commitment of ₹10,000 crore and expressed special thanks to Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh for their dedication and support to women'swelfare.
