Andhra Pradesh government spent Rs. 88K cr in two years for women welfare

VIJAYAWADA: The government has disbursed Rs 88,040.29 crore to women in two years for their empowerment.

According to officials, the government led by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has implemented several revolutionary programmes in the last two years to promote the economic self-sufficiency and empowerment of women.

The government implemented many welfare schemes such as YSR Aasara, YSR Cheyuta, YSR Sunnavaddi, YSR Kapu Nestam and YSR EBC Nestam. To ensure that every woman provide her children a good education, the government allocated Rs 13,022.93 crore under the Jagananna Ammavodi  scheme by depositing Rs 15,000 per annum to the accounts of every poor and needy mother who sends her children to school.

In addition to enforcing liquor control and bringing peace and tranquility to families, Rs 27,000 crore has been allocated for the welfare programmes such as providing 30,76,000 house-site pattas and house registrations in the names of women. This  created history in the advancement of women empowerment in the country.

Under the flagship YSR Aasara, the government directly reimbursed an interest amount of Rs 1,400.08 crore towards loans to 8.71 lakh SHGs in 2019-20, thereby benefiting over 87 lakh women. Observing the plight of SHG women, the state government also promised to repay Rs 27,168 crores of loan to banks under the YSR Aasara scheme in four installments. As per the promise made during the padayatra to SHG women that the government would repay their debts to commercial and co-operative banks, the first installment of Rs 6,310.68 crore was disbursed to 77,75,681 women on September 11 last year.

As regards the YSR Zero Interest Scheme for women, the government paid Rs 1,400 crore as interest arrears owed to banks by 90,37,255 SHG women from April 1, 2019 to March 2020. The number of eligible SHG women rose to 9.34 lakh from last year’s 8.71 lakh because of greater confidence in the government. The total count of SHG women is 1.11 crore now. This scheme has so far benefited 98,00,626 SHG women with Rs 2,354.22 crore.

For YSR Cheyutha, as many 69,000 shops have been set up in rural and urban areas. As of April 2021, the government deposited Rs 4,604.13 crore in the accounts of 24, 55,534 women under YSR Cheyutha scheme.

Further,  YSR Kapu Nestam, YSR Sampurna Poshana, YSR EBC Nestham, Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi, YSR Nethanna Nestham and several other welfare schemes helped women empowerment in all the 13 districts of AP in the last two years.