ITANAGAR, 21 Jul: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday disbursed loan amount of Rs 8,27,47,000 to 789 Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
The loans were provided by the State Bank of India (SBI), the Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank (APRB) and the Arunachal Pradesh State Cooperative Apex Bank (APSCAB).
While the APRB has given the highest Rs 4,90,46,000 loan to 504 SHGs, the SBI has loaned Rs 2,26,01,000 to 174 SHGs and APSCAB has doled out Rs 1,11,00,000 as loan amount to 111 SHGs.
The DAY-NRLM is being implemented by the Arunachal State Rural Livelihood Mission (ArSRLM) of the state Rural Development department facilitating a subsidized loan amount of Rs 1 lakh to each eligible SHG.
The event was a part of the nationwide ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’ in line with the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Mission to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence in 2022.
The ArSRLM is currently implementing DAY-NRLM in 22 districts and has brought 33,516 rural households under it. The dedicated mission management units at the state, district clusters and block levels provide continued handholding support to SHGs for strengthening their institutions, financial inclusion, promotion of livelihoods and expanding existing basket of livelihoods of SHG members.
Commending the ArSRLM, especially its block level coordinators, Khandu said that savings, thrift and micro finance support to the SHGs under DAY-NRLM have been instrumental in initiating a transformational change at the household level in rural areas.
“We are striving hard to address the formidable challenge of financial inclusion in rural areas, where our citizens are not having desired level of access to financial services. The ArSRLM is taking forward the state government’s vision of deepening financial inclusion by providing access to affordable and appropriate financial services, which would contribute towards improving GDP and lowering income inequality,” he said.
Asserting that it is the vision of the state government to transform rural economy of the state, Khandu said that a proper roadmap has to be evolved to take the process further. He said he will soon have a brainstorming session with the concerned minister, coordinators and partner banks to take financial inclusion further into rural areas besides increasing the loan amount.
“It is a matter of pride that we today have about 3,796 SHGs, mostly of women, across the state. Our aim should be to handhold each of them through all means at our disposal. We also have to bring in all these SHGs under the SHG Bank Linkage Program,” he observed.
As per records, the state government has so far released DAY-NRLM grants through the ArSRLM in the form of revolving fund to 2,901 SHGs amounting to Rs 435.15 lakhs and community investment fund to the tune of Rs 1,285.16 lakhs to 280 primary level federations of SHGs.
Bankers, especially the SBI, APRB and APSCAB have been at the forefront in providing credit linkage support to SHGs under DAY-NRLM where repayment rate is 100 percent till date.
Representatives of various SHGs from across the state joined the virtual meet and put forth their respective experiences and suggestions.
It was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Rural Development Minister Bamang Felix, besides representatives of SBI, APRB and APSCAB. (CMO’s PR cell)
