Amit Shah Launches She-Mart, Cooperative Initiatives for Women in Kollam
Amit Shah launched She-Mart shops and other cooperative initiatives in Kollam, Keralam, aimed at connecting women Self-Help Groups and rural entrepreneurs with markets.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah launched a set of initiatives focused on women's empowerment and the cooperative sector at the Pavithram Convention Centre in Kollam, Keralam. Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi and representatives from the cooperative sector were present.
The centrepiece was the inauguration of 'Vanitham She-Mart Shops' and the start of sales of NCCF's 'Janah' products. Shah described She-Mart as a step to link women Self-Help Groups and rural women entrepreneurs directly with markets and consumers, and said institutions such as NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and Amul would help women-led enterprises scale up.
More than 300 She-Mart stores are planned across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, alongside NCCF's existing network of over 2,500 retail outlets. Local products and Bharat Brand items will be sold through these stores. Shah said farmers and women entrepreneurs would gain across the value chain, from procurement and processing to branding, packaging and direct retail access.
He noted that Keralam has over 23,000 active cooperative societies and a movement that predates Independence, with strong traditions in Travancore, Kochi and Malabar. He said the She-Mart initiative, announced in the Union Budget, was being launched from Keralam, and invited the state's Cooperation Minister to Delhi, offering central support for organic agriculture and other sectors.
Other measures launched in Kollam include the sale of onions, Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice through NAFED mobile vans; the supply of urad and gram seeds to women farmers under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses; and scholarships for girl children from nearly 2,000 families under the NAFED-Kalyan Scholarship Scheme.
Shah said around 8 lakh farmers are associated with NAFED and nearly 6 lakh women farmers with NCCF, and that efforts would be made to raise these numbers. He also pointed to Keralam's potential in the Blue Economy and said central schemes aim to strengthen it through cooperation.
Citing the government's record on women-led development, he said women's labour force participation has risen from about 23 per cent in 2017-18 to roughly 40 per cent now, bank accounts have been opened for nearly 36 crore women, Triple Talaq has been prohibited, over 11,000 daughters serve as officers in the Armed Forces, and about 3 crore women have become Lakhpati Didis, with a target of 6 crore by 2029.