Guwahati, Aug 24 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday that nearly 40 lakh women across the state are actively engaged in income-generating ventures through self-help groups (SHGs), reflecting the success of its flagship welfare schemes aimed at financial empowerment.

Chief Minister Sarma, while addressing a gathering at the Dehing Sports Complex in Margherita during the second phase of the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyaan (MMUA), said that Assam today has around four lakh SHGs that have transformed the socio-economic landscape in rural and urban areas.

He added that eight lakh women have already crossed the milestone of earning more than Rs 1 lakh annually.

“Women have become familiar with banking systems, they are producing goods, and they are achieving self-sufficiency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited some of these ‘Lakhpati Baideos’ to Delhi to honour their achievements. We want many more women to reach that level of success,” CM Sarma said.

At Margherita town, the Chief Minister distributed cheques of Rs 10,000 each to 18,370 SHG members — 16,603 from rural areas and 1,767 from municipal areas — under the MMUA scheme.

He said that the programme offers Rs 10,000 as seed capital in the first year, increasing to Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 in subsequent years if invested productively.

The scheme is expected to cost Rs 4,000 crore in its initial stage, rising to Rs 20,000 crore in later phases.

The state government is also providing skill training to SHG members through the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission and Assam State Urban Livelihood Mission to strengthen their ventures.

Highlighting other women-centric interventions, CM Sarma said the Orunodoi scheme now benefits 36 lakh women, with each receiving Rs 1,500 per month for household needs, including LPG cylinders.

The programme alone requires Rs 4,800 crore annually.

Under the Nijut Moina scheme, female students in higher secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate levels are provided direct financial assistance.

From November 1, ration card holders will also receive free rice, along with pulses, sugar and salt at subsidised rates.

On the same day, the Chief Minister inaugurated a Rs 6 crore Material Recovery Facility and Waste to Compost Plant in Margherita, capable of processing 50 metric tonnes of municipal waste daily.

–IANS

tdr/khz