Hence, the SHG movement in the country, which has been a dud so far, can look forward to an impetus with Ramesh at the helm of affairs.
As a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh since 2004, he has been putting all his MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) money in the SHG programmme in the state each year, and continues to do so. According to officials, the money associated with the programme goes to the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), a sort of an NGO created by the state government in 2001 to create livelihood options for SHGs in the state.
So far, Rs 34 000 crore has been provided in bank loans to SHGs in the state through the SERP, says its former secretary Vijay Kumar currently in charge of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) in the rural development ministry. The MPLADS money goes to creating schemes which SHGs demand in various places and are outside the general schemes under the programme. Read the full report here.
Source: Sreelatha Menon, Business Standard, New Delhi.
