Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the inauguration of the 35th annual day celebrations of the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Also seen are chairperson of the corporation K.C. Rosakutty, Health Minister Veena George, Transport Minister Antony Raju and corporation managing director Bindu V.C.
| Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for more brainstorming on how work from home and work near home systems can be more effectively utilised.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 35th anniversary of the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) here on Wednesday. The Chief Minister also inaugurated the K.R. Gouri Amma Endowment instituted to commemorate K.R. Gouri who was a Minister when the KSWDC was formed in 1988.
Mr. Vijayan said new work cultures that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic should be utilised to the full. Work from home and work near home were examples of this. Many talented and qualified people were unable to work for various reasons. There was a need to think how these new opportunities could be used for such people. A ₹1,000-crore project had been prepared to implement work near home in the State, and ₹50 crore earmarked for this in the Budget this year, he said.
The presence of women in the State’s labour and employment sector should be increased, the Chief Minister said. A project launched with the target of 1 lakh enterprises in one year had exceeded it, and was nearing 1.33 lakh. Of these, 43,000 were enterprises by women. As many as 2.8 lakh job opportunities and an investment of ₹8,000 crore were generated, he added.
Mr. Vijayan said the KSWDC, set up to improve the social and financial status of women in the State, was doing excellent work. It did a business of ₹400 crore. It was also the State licensing agency of five national financial corporations. The guarantee given by the government to the KSWDC had increased six times in nearly seven years. The increase from ₹145 crore to ₹845 crore was an indication of the good support provided by the government.
Minister for Women and Child Development Veena George inaugurated a women’s development summit ‘Escalera’ on the occasion. The Minister said the KSWDC was launched when K.R. Gouri was the Minister to increase women’s participation in all spheres for social development. The KSWDC had offices in all districts and hostels in 10 districts. Its teamwork was behind all its achievements, she said.
Minister for Transport Antony Raju felicitated former chairpersons of the KSWDC, including Mridul Eapen, B. Jayalakshmi, Jameela Ibrahim, Khamarunnisa Anwar, N.K. Radha, P. Kulsu, and K.S. Saleekha.
Former Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy delivered the K.R. Gouri Amma commemorative address. A technical session on ‘Women entrepreneurship – the KSWDC experience’ was held in the morning.
On Thursday, sociologist and legal researcher Kalpana Kannabiran is set to deliver the K.R. Gouri Amma Endowment Lecture at 9.30 a.m. It will be followed by various sessions in which experts will take part.
