Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated a unique ‘My Pad My Right’ Project at Killa in Tripura on Saturday and hailed the PM Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on its 7th anniversary.
The MPMR is a unique initiative of NABARD & NABFOUNDATION to bring livelihoods & menstrual hygiene closer to rural women by way of grant, wage support & capital equipment.
“Under MPMR project, SHGs are given (1) One sanitary pad making machine, (2) Raw materials for two months, (3) Wages for 50 days, (4) Packaging materials for two months & other accessories, and (5) Five days training in three phases”, the Finance Minister tweeted.
On Saturday, the second and last day of her visit to Tripura, the Union Finance Minister visited Mata Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur sub-division and then interacted with the women Self Help Groups (SHGs) at Killa RD Block under Gomati District. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma were present in the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman hailed the PM Jan Dhan Yojana on the occasion of its 7th anniversary and said, “The Govt started the scheme so that every poor person gets access to a bank account and a RuPay card. Through PMJDY, during the lockdown last year, the Govt could transfer Rs 1,500 directly to the accounts of women”.
According to a government press release, 55 percent Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 67 percent Jan Dhan accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas. Out of total 43.04 crore PMJDY accounts, 36.86 crore (86 percent) are operative. As of now, the number of RuPay cards issued to PMJDY account holders across the country stands 31.23 crore.
She also flagged-off a mobile ATM van of Tripura State Co Operative Bank Ltd to mark the 7th anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana.
The mobile ATM van will cover all gram panchayats/ village committees of South Tripura District. It supports ATM cards of all banks. It is fitted with an LED TV for demonstration of digital financial literacy related videos and promotion of different banking products.
Sitharaman then interacted with the members of women-run SHGs trained in handicrafts under Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDP) of NABARD.
A tweet from Sitharaman’s office said, “The SHGs have been receiving various benefits under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana. Recently, the limit of collateral free lending to SHGs was increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakhs.”
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the MPMR would help achieve menstrual hygeine for rural women as well as create livelihood opportunities.
The Chief Minister said that his government had taken multiple steps to strengthen the rural economy.
He said, with involvement of more women, the number of Self Help Groups in the state has increased six times than before – the products made by such SHG members are generating income scopes making them Atmanirbhar.
The Chief Minister also spoke on various steps taken by the state government for welfare of Janajati people and women empowerment.