Mission Shakti is a full-fledged department in the Naveen Patnaik government, and over 70 lakh women from Odisha’s rural areas participate in economic activities via over six lakh SHGs
Mission Shakti is a full-fledged department in the Naveen Patnaik government, and over 70 lakh women from Odisha’s rural areas participate in economic activities via over six lakh SHGs
When Abanti Das was handpicked as a candidate for the Dhamnagar byelection in Odisha on Wednesday, the biggest qualification the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) attributed to her candidature was her experience in the self-help group (SHG) movement. Though Ms. Das holds the post of chairperson of the Tihidi block and has been in public life for quite some time, she too appealed first to her SHG members to ensure her victory.
Ms. Das is likely the second BJD candidate after Pramilla Bisoi, the septuagenarian Member of Parliament from Ganjam’s Aska constituency, who has emerged in Odisha’s political arena from the BJD’s flagship Mission Shakti programme for women.
Launched as a programme to initiate women into the SHG movement in 2001, Mission Shakti has come a long way to become a separate, full-fledged department under the Naveen Patnaik government. Political analysts point out that women SHGs are solidly consolidated behind the regional party, a major reason behind the BJD’s successive electoral successes in the past two decades.
The evolution of the women SHG movement is being dubbed a silent revolution, transforming the status of women economically, socially and politically, and more so at the family-level. More than 70 lakh women from Odisha’s rural areas are actively participating in economic activities through over six lakh SHGs.
Credit disbursement among women SHGs has quadrupled in just four years. From a mere ₹1,036 crore credit provided to SHGs in 2016-17, disbursement touched ₹4,190 crore in 2020-21. In the current fiscal, the disbursement has reached ₹6,000 crore. Odisha’s Mission Shakti Department facilitates institutional finance to SHGs at 0% interest on loans up to ₹3 lakh, triggering massive economic activities at the grassroots level. The government pays ₹200 crore towards interest subvention.
Apart from their own entrepreneurial ventures, women SHGs have probably grown into the biggest outsourcing agencies for the State government in recent years. The State Cabinet provides ₹5,000 crore of business to Mission Shakti groups annually. As many as 21 departments have outsourced their activities in different scales to women SHGs.
Women have forayed into activities considered inconceivable for them few years ago. From helping people recognise early signs of cancer and facilitating treatment to handling sewage treatment plants; from collecting power bills to enabling rural transport with e-autos — women are involved in a very diverse range of activities now.
Women SHGs are the sole suppliers of chhatuas or sattu for distribution in anganwadi centres. The government has also made a resolution to not procure chhatuas from agencies other than women SHGs. The biggest recognition for Odisha’s women SHGs came with their involvement in running kitchens and distributing food to migrant worker returnees at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
In 2021, the government decided to lease out its properties, including village ponds, to SHGs to take up livelihood activities. An e-market portal enables Mission Shakti members to access global markets and secure the right value for their products.
To better organise and institutionalise women SHGs, the government has announced it’s building Mission Shakti Bhavans at the State-level and in all districts at a cost of ₹1 crore each for the infrastructure, and construction has picked up pace.
It was not that the Naveen Patnaik government pioneered the women SHG movement in the country. Kerala had started successful women SHGs programmes much before the present Odisha CM came into public life. But the way the BJD government created a force of loyal women has perhaps set it apart from others. The Opposition BJP has also recognised this power. Just before rural polls in Odisha this year, the BJP announced the creation of SHGs for men in its manifesto.
Though Mr. Patnaik is by far more popular than any other leader in the State, women SHGs could play a vital role in blunting the anti-incumbency factor when he faces the 2024 Assembly and General Elections.
