Agartala, April 2: Among the 4,75,582 Self Help Group (SHGs) members in Tripura, 94,723 women emerged as ‘Lakhpati Didis’ through their engagement in various enterprising units and 93,425 more women would be ‘Lakhpati Didis’ soon, Social Welfare and Labour Minister Tinku Roy said.
A ‘Lakhpati Didi’ is an SHG member with an annual household income exceeding Rs one lakh. Beyond financial success, they inspire through adopting sustainable livelihood practices and achieving a decent standard of living. Roy said that SHGs support the women to become ‘Lakhpati Didi’ with collective action, financial literacy, and skill development, empowering members for entrepreneurial ventures.
The government actively backs this initiative, promoting diversified livelihood activities and fostering collaboration across sectors for strategic planning and implementation, he said. The Minister said that the state government has framed the “Tripura State Policy for Empowerment of Women” and taken a series of steps to economically and socially empower women.
He said that the state government has already reserved 33 per cent of posts for women in government jobs. Tripura currently has 52,902 SHGs under the Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission (TRLM), and 4,75,582 rural women are associated with these SHGs, while under the Tripura Urban Livelihood Mission, around 6,000 SHGs were formed involving 63,743 women living in the urban areas.
The Minister said that Rs 740.43 crore were given as financial assistance and Rs 1,539 crore were given as loans to these SHG members to produce various items and to do business in numerous sectors. The state government has decided to construct 10 hostels for working women, and Rs 114 crore has been allocated for the purpose.
Chief Minister Manik Saha earlier said that before the BJP came to power in Tripura in 2018, only 4,000 SHGs were working in the state. To empower women, the Chief Minister said that 33 per cent reservations were made for women in government jobs in the state and breaking all barriers and stigma, 137 women were given jobs in Tripura’s elite force, Tripura State Rifles (TSR).
Referring to the reports of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, had said that among the 28 states in the country, Tripura is the third best state in overall crimes and 8th best state in crime against women. He said that in the start-up sectors of Tripura, 41 per cent of women were involved and their performance is very good. Over seven lakh women of Tripura were covered in the two national government-sponsored insurance schemes, the Chief Minister added.
IANS