Palamu (Jharkhand), Dec 12 (IANS) The Central Government’s ‘Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana’ has become a major means of making rural women self-reliant. Women’s self-help groups are formed and provided with easy loans, skill training, and market linkages to help them start their own livelihoods under this scheme. A large number of women in Palamu, Jharkhand, have also benefited immensely from this scheme.

Sushma Devi, a beneficiary and trainer under the ‘Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana’, told IANS that she received training through an NGO and now prepares and sells food products like pickles and papad in the market. She is also training other women and helping them become self-reliant.

Sushma Devi said, “Earlier, we weren’t even allowed to step outside the house, but after joining the group, our thinking has changed. Today, banks are giving loans without any guarantee. The credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, because of whom women are becoming economically stronger and are able to take responsibility for their families.”

Savita Kumari, a member of a self-help group, said, “Joining the group has changed our lives. Earlier, women were confined to their homes, but the scheme has given them the opportunity to step out and stand on their own feet.”

Medininagar City Manager Satish Kumar said, “The ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ is proving effective in the development of rural women. Due to this scheme, many social evils, especially the practice of ghunghat (veil), have reduced significantly. Women are becoming independent and contributing to society.”

It is worth noting that under the Government of India’s ambitious ‘Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana’, the ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ is playing a major role in the economic empowerment of rural women. Launched in 2011 under the Ministry of Rural Development, the scheme aims to organise rural poor families and link them to self-employment so that more and more women can rise above the poverty line.

--IANS

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