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

[Ram Sarangapani]

Hi Uttam,

You are correct. It is quite difficult to decipher from here what is
"behind" any news item anymore.
But, we take them as they come and there aren't too many ways to cross-check
news items.

--Ram da

On 6/2/08, uttam borthakur <uttamborthakur at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
>
> Ram Da
>
> Will it not be prudent to get all the facts together before getting
> euphoric? You know as well as all of us do that 'SHG' is not a magic wand.
> The land acquired by the SHG( the process), the initial funds raised by
> them( the process) may not be accessible to a poor farmer in Assam without a
> history like the person in question and his cohorts have. So let us not
> repeat the bane of being euphoric or depressed too fast. These days news
> reports are also not very innocuous.
>
> Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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 -
>
>
>
> 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*
> * 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,"
> Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
>
> *Under the programme, SHGs can avail themselves of assistance in the form
> of
> **bank loans*
> *, 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
> unitsand
> 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.*
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>
>
> Uttam Kumar Borthakur
>
>
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