Enormous scope for SHGs in Bengal, says Sadhan Pande

Sadhan Pande, state minister for Consumer Affairs and Self Help Group and Self Employment, has urged all SHGs in the state to work together for self dependence.

The minister was addressing a seminar titled 'Energizing Women Entrepreneurs and Empowering Women Digitally' in the city recently.

He explained the various schemes taken up by his department.

"There are startups which train members of SHGs and there is enormous scope for them. The department arranges for their bank loans and gives their training on marketing strategies," Pande said.

Other speakers at the programme, who highlighted different angles of women empowerment at the seminar – organised at Rotary Sadan by journalist Shilpa Bichitra – were Sunanda Mukherjee, Chairperson, West Bengal State Commission for Women; Monisha Chakraborty, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India; and Tanmoyee Banerjee, Professor, Department of Economics, Jadavpur University.

As a part of the event, a loan-camp was also organised for attendees on how to secure a bank loan without collateral security and repay the same in time.

More than 160 women from different districts – including Kolkata, Howrah and South 24 Parganas – attended the loan camp.