[Assam] Self-help groups in Assam transform rural economy - IANS

[Ram Sarangapani]

Now, here is some great, positive news!

And for those of us who see everything is wrong with Dilli, the Swarnjayanti
Gram Swarozgar Yojana initiated by Dilli is doing wonders.
Highlights mine.

--Ram
____________

Self-help groups in Assam transform rural economy (Feature)
June 1st, 2008 - 12:59 pm ICT by admin -
<http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/self-help-groups-in-assam-transform-rural-economy-feature_10055246.html/email/>


By Syed Zarir Hussain
Nagaon (Assam), June 1 (IANS) Karuna Kalita was once an explosives expert
with the terror group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). But he got fed
up with life in the jungles and surrendered in 2003. He opted for a new life
by forming a self-help group (SHG). The 36-year-old former rebel, who is a
father of two, is today into mechanised farming, growing paddy in an acre of
land, besides cultivating cabbage, mustard, and bhut jolokia - the hottest
chilli on earth - at his native Dhing village in the central Assam district
of Nagaon.

"I have 12 other members in my SHG and we are working hard. Last year we
earned about Rs.1 million," Kalita said before he jumped into his tractor
and set off for work.

>From former separatists to housewives to educated but unemployed youths,
thousands of people in the northeastern state of Assam are pushing
micro-enterprises into profitable business ventures, thereby turning around
the region's rural economy.

There are more than 90,000 SHGs working in diverse fields in rural Assam -
the whopping number being an indicator of the success of the central
government-aided venture in working towards development and boosting the
rural economy.

"Earlier, earning Rs.3,000 per month was unthinkable. But now after setting
up an SHG, I and my seven friends are not only earning but also encouraging
others like us to do something and earn a living," said Nandeswar Dihingia,
a college dropout in Dhing.

*The concept of SHGs got a major impetus after New Delhi launched the
Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) - a programme aimed at bringing
families above the poverty line by ensuring a sustainable level of
**income*<http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/self-help-groups-in-assam-transform-rural-economy-feature_10055246.html#>
* over a period of time.*

"The SHG scheme has led to a silent economic revolution sweeping through
rural Assam. This is a good sign as people are getting involved in self-
enterprise<http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/self-help-groups-in-assam-transform-rural-economy-feature_10055246.html#>,"
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.

*Under the programme, SHGs can avail themselves of assistance in the form of
**bank loans*<http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/self-help-groups-in-assam-transform-rural-economy-feature_10055246.html#>
*, supported by back-ended government subsidy - a group can avail itself of
a government subsidy up to Rs.125,000.*

>From dairy to mechanised farming, weavin, poultry, food processing
units<http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/self-help-groups-in-assam-transform-rural-economy-feature_10055246.html#>and
mushroom cultivation, people in Assam's countryside are busy setting
up
micro-enterprises by forming SHGs.

"We are now self-reliant and able to speak with our heads high," said
Rupanjali Gharphulia. Rupanjali along with a dozen-odd housewives had opened
a poultry farm with bank loans and is today making a substantial profit.

*The self-help group movement has indirectly come to perform the role of
peacemaker in a state where militancy is a problem*.

*"One can only hope this movement indirectly helps solve the region's
growing unemployment problem, which in turn could tame insurgency in the
state," Assam Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Chandan Brahma said.*