Kollam, 26 September: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah launched She-Mart in Kollam, Keralam, a cooperative retail initiative that aims to connect women’s self-help groups and rural women entrepreneurs directly with markets and buyers.
More than 300 She-Mart stores are planned across Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, selling local products alongside Bharat brand goods. Shah said farmers and women entrepreneurs would benefit at every stage of the value chain, from procurement and processing to branding, packaging and direct access to retail markets.
What She-Mart is and where it will open
The She-Mart initiative was announced by the Union Finance Minister in the Budget. Shah said it was a matter of great satisfaction that it was being launched from Keralam, where more than 23,000 cooperative institutions are functioning and the cooperative movement dates back to before Independence.
At the Pavithram Convention Centre, Shah remotely inaugurated the Vanitham She-Mart Shops, developed jointly by NCCF and The Central Financial Credit and Investment Co-operative (India) Limited (CFCICI). He also launched the sale of NCCF’s Janah products, and the sale of Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice to women customers through the new shops.
NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and Amul would also help women-led enterprises grow, Shah said. Around 8 lakh farmers are associated with NAFED and nearly 6 lakh women farmers with NCCF, he said, adding that efforts would be made to raise these numbers.
Agreements signed for 300 She-Mart shops
Several memorandums of understanding were exchanged at the event. One was between NCCF and CFCICI. Another covers supply-chain logistics for fisheries products of the Bharatiya Matsya Pravartak Sangham under NCCF’s Janah brand. A third, between NCCF and Bharat Lajhna Sahakari Samiti, is for opening 300 She-Mart shops across Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Subsidised onions, pulse seeds and scholarships
Shah flagged off NCCF and NAFED mobile vans selling onions at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg. Through NAFED’s mobile vans, onions, Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice will be made available to farmers and the public in Keralam.
Women farmers received free urad and gram seed kits under the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses. Scholarship cheques were handed to daughters of registered farmers under the NAFED-Kalyan Scholarship Scheme, which Shah said is supporting girls from nearly 2,000 families.
Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi attended, along with representatives of the cooperative sector.
Women’s empowerment figures cited by Shah
Shah said empowering women through cooperation was one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s key objectives, repeating the Prime Minister’s view that when the woman of a household prospers, the whole family prospers. The government’s aim, he said, is for the benefits of Sahkar se Samriddhi to reach rural and poor women.
According to Shah, women’s labour force participation has risen from around 23 per cent in 2017-18 to about 40 per cent, and bank accounts have been opened for nearly 36 crore women. More than 11,000 women officers now serve in the armed forces, he said. The target of nearly 3 crore Lakhpati Didis was met before 2024, and the new goal is 6 crore by 2029.
He also referred to the ban on Triple Talaq, the change that lets Muslim women perform Haj without a male companion, and the provision of 26 weeks of maternity leave.
Blue economy push for Keralam
Shah said Keralam’s long coastline, backwaters, rivers and maritime tradition give it large opportunities in the blue economy. Central fisheries schemes cover everything from large trawlers to production, processing, packaging, branding and exports, he said, and urged the state’s Minister of Cooperation to take them up.
He invited the state minister to Delhi and said the Centre would help Keralam get the maximum benefit from Government of India schemes, including support in organic farming. Shah began his speech by congratulating Malayalis on the state’s journey from Kerala to Keralam.
Medilytix earlier reported on the launch of Bharat Atta sales through mobile vans in 2023.