Tripura eyeing to 'one product from one block' to promote SHGs, says Dy CM
Referring to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's idea of one product for one district, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma of Tripura said that in Tripura the government would strive for one product from one Block.
Addressing the mega credit fair for Self Help Groups under Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission, the Deputy Chief Minister said, "the government is keen to promote products made by SHG groups. If you can commercially market the SHG made products, thousands of people especially women will be directly benefited. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in his budget speech last year had talked about the idea of one district one product, and in Tripura we should aspire for one product from one block".
Praising the clean track record of women run SHG groups in Tripura, Dev Varma said, "if someone goes by the track record of SHGs in Tripura, it is easily understood that the NPA rate for SHG loans are negligible perhaps best in the country and we should feel proud of that. Now, I can at least request the banks to give more and more loans to the SHGs citing that loans these enterprising women never turn into NPA".
The minister also thanked banks who have extended a helping hand towards the SHGs and agreed to distribute Rs 14.23 crore during this credit fair.
MP Pratima Bhowmik who had also attended the programme said that the previous government had intentionally defunct the SHG groups. "Earlier the presence of women was less in the SHG groups and the pending loans were mounting up. It was this government that improved the presence of women and revived the profit of SHGs", Bhowmik said.