New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) As many as 2.94 crore women’s self-help group (SHG) members in rural areas have been trained on various aspects of financial inclusion, including banking services, during the first nine months of FY 2025-26, up to December, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

To enhance awareness of financial products and services in rural areas, the National Livelihood Mission has undertaken extensive Financial Literacy initiatives through trained Financial Literacy Community Resource Persons (FL-CRPs).

As of date, 56,727 women SHG members have been trained and deployed as FL-CRPs across the country, Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

These FL-CRPS conduct regular training and awareness programmes at the community level on various aspects of financial inclusion, including the use of banking services, savings, credit, digital financial transactions, insurance, and pensions.

Their engagement is designed to improve financial behaviour, strengthen access to formal financial services, and enable informed decision-making at the household level, the minister explained.

The National Cooperation Policy 2025 emphasises inclusive participation of women in cooperatives, aiming to empower them through legal status, enabling policies, digitalisation, financial access, and sectoral expansion.

It positions cooperatives as vehicles for social equity and economic growth, with women as priority stakeholders. The policy also outlines sector-specific cooperatives for women, including dairy, handicrafts, food processing, textiles, and community services.

In furtherance of policy, the Ministry of Cooperation, in coordination with various Central agencies such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) a statutory Corporation under the administrative control of Ministry of Cooperation, National Council for Cooperative Training (NCCT) and in collaboration with Ministry of Rural Development has undertaken several initiatives for strengthening cooperatives and empowering women through the cooperative movement, the minister further stated.

The SHGs, as part of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), are informal groups owned and managed by the women members. They are not registered under any norms.

However, the Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) of these SHGs are registered under the Cooperative Act. So far, 10,381 CLFs have been registered under the State Cooperative Act, the Multi-Cooperative Act or the Mutually Aided Cooperative Act across the country.

Additionally, NCDC plans and promotes programmes for women for production, processing, marketing, storage, supply chain, export and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock, commodities, and services like tourism, rural housing, renewable energy, banking, hospital & healthcare, and education, etc., on cooperative principles by providing them financial assistance.

NCCT has trained 3,12,006 women participants since 2021 through long-term and short-term programmes focused on leadership development, financial literacy, governance, and managerial competencies, thereby enhancing women’s participation in cooperative management, the minister added.

–IANS

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