Odisha working to make every woman financially independent: CM Majhi

Bhubaneswar, Nov 1 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday said his government was committed to ensuring that every woman in the state becomes financially independent, self-reliant and capable of entrepreneurship.

Inaugurating the second edition of the 'Subhadra Shakti Mela' here, Majhi said the fair, which will continue till November 12, was a platform to showcase women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship under the Subhadra Yojana.

"Our goal is to create a prosperous Odisha by 2036 and to make it the growth engine of a developed India by 2047. This goal will be fulfilled when the power of our lakhs of Subhadra mothers is awakened. They will be empowered and their valuable contribution will be in every field of development," he said.

The Subhadra Yojana is a unique model to achieve that goal, he stated.

He added that Odisha has achieved unprecedented success by creating 17 lakh Lakhpati Didis in a very short time under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship scheme Lakhpati Didi Yojana.

"Our target is to create 25 lakh Lakhpati Didis by 2027. To achieve this, we have doubled the Revolving Fund of SHG. We have increased the Community Investment Fund for Gram Panchayat level federations from Rs 35 lakh to Rs 60 lakh," Majhi pointed out.

Along with this, an interest refund facility on bank loans has also been made, he said.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government on Saturday started receiving new applications under the Subhadra Yojana.

Women, who attained 21 years of age as on April 1, are now eligible for the scheme, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida said.

Eligible women who are more than 21 years old and below 60 can also apply for the scheme, she said.

"Eligible women, who were outside the state or could not apply earlier, can also submit their applications for the financial assistance under the scheme," said Parida, who is in-charge of the Women and Child Development Department.

She said new beneficiaries would receive a total of Rs 10,000 in two installments — Rs 5,000 for September and the remaining Rs 5,000 on March 8.

Subhadra Yojana, an ambitious women welfare scheme of the BJP government, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday (September 17) in 2024.

The scheme is designed to provide eligible women aged 21 to 60 years with Rs 50,000 over five years, from 2024-25 to 2028-29.

Each beneficiary will receive Rs 10,000 per year in two installments of Rs 5,000 each — one on Rakhi Purnima, and the other on International Women’s Day (March 8). PTI BBM BBM BBM MNB