Ministry of Rural Development Hosts 4th Consultative Workshop with Tamil Nadu SRLM on ‘Women’s Economic Empowerment via Promotion of Producer Collectives’

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India organised the fourth consultative workshop, in collaboration with Tamil Nadu state mission of DAY-NRLM on the theme of “Women’s Economic Empowerment through Promotion of Producer Collectives”. Participants from seven states- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka along with some eminent stakeholders from government, private and social sector organizations joined the workshop.

In his keynote address, Additional Secretary, Rural Livelihoods, Shri Charanjit Singh reiterated the commitment of DAY-NRLM to partner with State SRLMs (State Rural Livelihoods Mission) in the spirit of convergence and whole of government approach. He added that they aim to weave an array of support for income generation among SHG women, leveraging partnerships with institutions, converging with government schemes and fostering collectivization. He emphasized on focused sector based interventions across the county.

Welcoming the participants, SMD of TNSRLM Smt. Divyadrashini set the agenda with a series of insights. Deputy Director, MoRD, Shri Raman Wadhwa in his presentation highlighted the progress of DAY-NRLM with reference to the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech. He laid out expectations from state units, emphasizing the promotion of Producer Collectives in the forms of Groups, Companies, Enterprises and the formation of Clusters to enable them become larger business organisations.

The regional workshop was further divided into 4 panel discussions on the below-mentioned topics:

a. Scaling up the tapestry of women-owned enterprises.

b. Sectoral interventions and role of women-owned enterprises.

c. Scope for promoting Federations of women-led enterprises.

d. Making sustainable women-led enterprises.