In Jammu and Kashmir, the inclusion of four lakh women in over 48,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (UMEED) has revolutionised women entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.
The J&K government, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, is committed to providing women entrepreneurs from SHGs with access to capital, quality mentorship for re-skilling and new-skilling, and assistance in reaching new markets.
According to an official spokesperson, "the government has taken a holistic approach to developing a women entrepreneur ecosystem to connect, collaborate, and invent for scaling up business and building a strong women workforce. " The bottom-up structures are being strengthened for women and youth to create empowered individuals in Jammu and Kashmir, he said adding that “They have resources available to create smarter enterprises and shape the community around them in extraordinary ways.”
Women are becoming more socially and economically independent thanks to initiatives like Saath, Umeed, Mumkin, Hausla, and Tejaswini. JKRLM programmes are also changing the lives of rural women in Jammu and Kashmir.
One of the flagship programmes ‘SAATH’ was launched by the Lieutenant Governor on September 1, 2021 to help rural women become self-reliant.
JKRLM had initiated a comprehensive mentoring programme under “SAATH programme” for selected SHG members, who have set up enterprises under the SAATH Programme.
SHG members are exposed to numerous marketing techniques as part of the programme, which will help them transform their present businesses into well-established large corporations. In order to scale up their production and company management, SHG entrepreneurs are given training in value adds, marketing, branding, forward linkages, sales, and business management.
Following comprehensive observations, 100 women entrepreneurs have been selected among the 5000 SHG members who are being assisted in creating higher level firms through one-on-one mentorship to improve their competitiveness and stake in the relevant trade sector.
By federating about 5 lakh rural women into over 60000 SHGs, these programmes have played a critical role in poverty alleviation, with 1 lakh rural women federated into SHGs during the financial year 2021-22.
JKRLM established the UMEED women's Haat, the first of its kind, to create a market linkage platform for about 5 lakh rural SHG members to exhibit their products and engage directly with consumers and purchasers. The UMEED Women's Haat is a project aimed at empowering women.
JKRLM's UMEED women's Haat is a women's empowerment initiative that brings rural women SHG members together on a single platform to demonstrate their skills, sell their wares, and network with potential market players.
The Lieutenant Governor stated at the introduction of the scheme that the "SAATH" platform, which is specifically built for women in rural and semi-urban areas, will be a vital contributor to their socio-economic advancement.
He stated that under the Rural Livelihoods Mission, J&K will foster existing firms into sustainable, high-productivity operations through skilling, mentorship, and market linkages, in addition to making business ecologies thrive in rural areas.
The purpose of the UT Government, Lieutenant Governor said, is to make women of J&K job creators rather than job seekers, and to boost the contribution of women entrepreneurs to the UT's GDP.
'We are seeing a steady rise in the number of women entrepreneurs in J&K, and young entrepreneurs are reshaping society in many ways and ensuring economic security and prosperity for others,' added the Lieutenant Governor.
