SHILLONG, Jan 30: The Cabinet on Thursday approved the establishment of a women-led financial cooperative society “Pla Tangka Cooperative Society” (PTCS), aimed at strengthening the financial ecosystem for self-help groups (SHGs) across the state.
The initiative, led by the Department of Community & Rural Development in partnership with the Centre for Research in Schemes & Policies (CRISP), has the potential to revolutionise rural financial inclusion and build economic resilience in Meghalaya, a government statement said.
Addressing the media following this decision, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the financial ecosystem surrounding SHGs in Meghalaya has seen a remarkable transformation since 2018.
He said the capital available through the SHG network has grown from Rs 40 crore in 2018 to over Rs 1,000 crore today. Given that the Rs 1,000 crore is already contributing significantly to Meghalaya’s GDP, PTCS will be a game-changer for rural economic development, he added.
“There are 51,674 SHGs in Meghalaya. That number used to be about 4,000 in 2018. The members used to be roughly 30,000-40,000 in 2018. Today, we have 5,20,177 members,” Sangma said.
He said PTCS will allow more access to funds through a cooperative model at the top where all SHGs will be free to join.
“As they subscribe and deposit a certain amount, they will be given access to funds, five to ten times the amount they have deposited. Cash will be easily and readily available,” he said.
Stating that earlier the scope of availability of funds was limited to only their groups, he said, “One of the biggest advantages of PTCS is that it will ensure easy and direct access to funds, eliminating the need for SHGs to go through the lengthy and complex processes of applying for loans from commercial or cooperative banks.”
He said this model will act as a financial intermediary, specifically designed for SHGs, making credit readily available and fostering entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.
With this, Meghalaya has become the fourth state in the country after Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to institutionalise this model. This decision is a follow up to the recent Cabinet Retreat where a decision was taken to strengthen the SHG women members and ensure they become financially independent.
The vision and idea of the PTCS was presented before the Cabinet by Principal Secretary and Development Commissioner, Community & Rural Development Department Sampath Kumar, who outlined the vision, structure and impact of the initiative.
Named after local linguistic and cultural roots— “Pla” (Khasi for bag) and “Tangka” (Garo for funds/money) and translating to “bag full of money”—PTCS has been registered under the Meghalaya Cooperative Societies Act, 2015. It is inspired by the Stree Nidhi Model of Telangana.
The initiative aligns with Meghalaya’s SHG Unicorn ($1 billion) Vision, which aims to eliminate multidimensional poverty by ensuring that every family in the state earns at least Rs 1 lakh additional income per year through multiple livelihood activities.
The CM also stated, “Through these innovative initiatives, we aim not only to empower women to become ‘Lakhpati Didis’ (women earning a minimum of Rs 1 lakh annually) but also to enable them to scale their income to the level of millionaires through multiple livelihood sources—generating revenues of Rs 10 lakh and beyond.”
