Guwahati, April 1: The Assam government on Tuesday launched a women entrepreneurship support scheme – Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyaan (MMUA) – which it claims to be a pioneering initiative designed to drive comprehensive empowerment of women across the state.
The scheme was inaugurated at a function by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Behali constituency, with 27,04,161 women from self-help groups selected as beneficiaries during the first phase.
The chief minister distributed the first tranche of payment of Rs 10,000 under the scheme as seed capital among 23,375 women beneficiaries to boost self-employment opportunities.
Speaking on the occasion, Sarma said, “If the beneficiaries make good use of their seed capital, in the second year, the beneficiaries will be entitled to Rs 25,000, of which Rs 12500 will be bank loan while the remaining Rs 12500 will be state grant.”
He informed that the state government would bear the interest of the bank loan. “Women who achieve success in the business under the scheme, will be entitled to Rs 50,000 in the third year,” he said.
Sarma further said the women SHGs would continue to enjoy all the benefits, as the state government has granted Rs 1,090 crore to 2.17 lakh women SHGs under different schemes. He also informed that an e-commerce platform has been built and strengthened to help the women in their entrepreneurial activities.
“The scheme will be instrumental in diversifying the rural economy by creating avenues for women to establish themselves in a range of sectors, including micro-enterprises, agriculture, animal husbandry, handlooms, and handicrafts. This initiative is strategically designed to integrate women into Assam’s production-driven economy, transforming them into formidable economic agents of change,” a BJP spokesperson said.