Chief Minister Dr Sarma said four and a half lakh women in the BTR will receive Orunodoi 3.0 benefits
Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma today (Dec 4) announced that Orunodoi 3.0 will be rolled-out in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) on December 12.
Chief Minister Dr Sarma said this while handing over Rs. 10,000 seed capital each to 35,199 women beneficiaries under Mukahya Mantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan at a programme held at Tamulpur.
He said that the scheme aims to support financially weak families through women empowerment and that four and a half lakh women in the BTR will receive Orunodoi 3.0 benefits. He informed that he will attend the event in Kokrajhar on 12 December to distribute approval letters to the beneficiaries.
Speaking about the Mukahya Mantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan , Chief Minister Dr Sarma said that the scheme has given a new fillip to strengthening women-led enterprise and livelihoods across the region, which has led to a new awakening among the women of the state. He observed that from ancient times, the women of Assam exceptionally led several fields, and Sati Joymati and Mulagabharu showed this with fine examples.
Although, instead of income-generating works, most women in the state stayed engaged in household tasks, a few women got themselves engaged in different business activities. In this backdrop, the transformational movement of self-help groups began in the state and as a result, the number of enterprising women kept rising. He said that through various business initiatives, women in the state have started to earn their own income.
Chief Minister Dr Sarma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi trusts the strength and capacity of women, and he aims to help three crore women in the country grow into Lakhpati Baideus. The goal is to build a new force of women who can earn more than Rs. 1 lakh in a year through entrepreneurial activities. In Assam, forty lakh women now work with self-help groups.
The Chief Minister said that many women have already used bank loans and their own savings to run businesses and have joined the ranks of Lakhpati Baideus. He said that more than eight lakh women in the state have now become Lakhpati.
Dr Sarma said that earlier women in the state wanted to run businesses but the lack of capital held them back. He said that after long discussion, the present government decided to support each member directly to encourage entrepreneurship. Under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan, the State arranged to give Rs. 10,000 to each of the forty lakh self-help group members. He said that the State government would spend Rs. 4000 crore for this purpose.
Commenting on the cheque distribution event held in Tamulpur, he said that the State government has already covered 45 assembly constituencies and 10 lakh women have been benefited. Catering to the needs of these 45 constituencies proves that the State government fulfils its promises.
He urged the beneficiaries to use the seed capital wisely. He said that Rs. 10,000 cheque distributed today only marks the beginning of the scheme and it will continue until all the beneficiaries become Lakhpati. Explaining the use of the seed capital, the Chief Minister said that if the women beneficiaries deposit the first installment of Rs. 10,000 into their self-help group, they can build a corpus of Rs. 1 lakh. They can then start a collective business, invest individually in a business or use the fund to expand an existing family business.
He said that after six months, the government will assess the use of the fund. He added that if women use the initial Rs. 10,000 effectively, they will receive Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 in the next phases.
He also said that just as the State government launched the Nijut Moina scheme to encourage girls education, it will also launch a new step for boys called the Babu Scheme from January 1. He also said that the ration card holder families in the state will receive lentils, salt and sugar at subsidised rates. He added that from 1 January, the government will also launch a scheme to provide subsidized cooking gas cylinders to the Orunodoi families.
On Orunodoi 3.0, Chief Minister Dr Sarma said that although it has reached the BTR a little late because of the recent BTC election, the newly formed BTC government and the State government will now work together to implement welfare measures in the BTC at a fast pace. He said that because of the goodwill of the State government, Tamulpur recently received a medical college, a bridge over the Pagladia River, and the construction and improvement of several important roads in the constituency.
He said that peace must support development and that the BTR now enjoys a peaceful environment that will speed up the state’s growth.
Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, BTC CEM Hagrama Mohilary, Cabinet Ministers Jayanta Mallabaruah and Charan Boro, Tamulpur MLA Jalen Daimary, several BTC executive members, Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission Mission Director Kuntal Moni Sarma Bordoloi, along with a host of other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
