Amit Shah launches SHE-Mart, women empowerment initiatives in Kollam

Kollam, Sep 26 (UNI) union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a series of initiatives aimed at women empowerment and strengthening the cooperative sector, including the 'Vanitham SHE-Mart' shops and the sale of products under the NCCF's 'Jana' brand.

Addressing the gathering at the Pavithram Convention Centre here, Shah said empowering women through cooperatives was one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's major objectives and that the government was committed to ensuring that the benefits of 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' reached rural and poor women across the country.

He said the launch of SHE-Mart in Kerala was particularly significant as the State had more than 23,000 cooperative societies and a strong and organised cooperative movement dating back to the pre-Independence period. "SHE-Mart is an important initiative to directly connect women's self-help groups and rural women entrepreneurs with markets and consumers," Shah said.

He said the initiative would benefit farmers and women entrepreneurs throughout the value chain, from procurement and processing to branding, packaging and direct access to retail markets. More than 300 SHE-Mart outlets would be established across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, along with more than 2,500 NCCF retail outlets, he said, adding that the initiative would provide farmers and women entrepreneurs with greater opportunities to access markets directly. Institutions including NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and Amul would support the expansion of women-led enterprises, Shah said. Referring to Kerala's cooperative tradition, Shah said the State had a strong cooperative ecosystem and urged the State Cooperation Minister to ensure that Kerala derived maximum benefit from various schemes of the union Government.

He said the Centre was ready to provide necessary support to Kerala in areas including organic farming and allied sectors. Highlighting the role of women in the 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' vision, Shah said the empowerment of women through cooperatives was one of the key objectives of the Prime Minister. "When a woman in a family prospers, the entire family prospers," he said, stressing the wider impact of women's economic empowerment. Shah said several measures had been taken in recent years to promote women-led development. Women's labour force participation had increased from around 23 per cent in 2017-18 to about 40 per cent, while around 36 crore women had been provided bank accounts, he said.

He also referred to the ban on triple talaq, measures enabling Muslim women to undertake Haj pilgrimage independently, 26 weeks of maternity leave and the growing participation of women in the armed forces. More than 11,000 women officers were currently serving in the armed forces, he said. Shah said the target of creating three crore 'Lakhpati Didis' had been achieved before 2024 and that the new target was to increase the number to six crore by 2029. On the cooperative sector, he said around eight lakh farmers were associated with NAFED and around six lakh women farmers with NCCF, adding that efforts were under way to further expand the reach of the two institutions.

Shah also highlighted Kerala's potential in the blue economy, citing its long coastline, backwaters, rivers and rich maritime heritage. He said the fisheries sector offered opportunities ranging from fishing vessels and production to processing, packaging, branding and exports. Joint efforts by the Centre and the State could transform these opportunities into significant economic activity, he added. During the function, Shah flagged off NCCF and NAFED mobile vans selling onions at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg and visited various stalls. An MoU was exchanged between NCCF and the Central Financial Credit and Investment Cooperative (India) Ltd (CFCICI) for integrating fish products of Bharatiya Matsya Pravartak Sangh with NCCF's 'Jana' brand supply-chain logistics. Another MoU was exchanged between NCCF and Bharat Lajna Sahakari Samiti for establishing 300 SHE-Mart shops across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Shah also launched the sale of 'Bharat Atta' and 'Bharat Rice' through the Vanitham SHE-Mart shops. He distributed free urad dal and chickpea seed kits to women farmers under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses and presented scholarship cheques to daughters of registered farmers under the NAFED-Kalyan Scholarship scheme. Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi and several dignitaries and representatives associated with the cooperative sector attended the function.

UNI DS