Telangana: State poised to lead in women’s empowerment, says Bhatti Vikramarka; Rs 20k cr SHG loan rollout from July 12

HYDERABAD: Deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday said Telangana is on track to becoming a national role model in women empowerment, as the state will begin distributing interest-free loans to women's self-help groups from July 12.Speaking at the 'Indira Mahila Shakti Sambaralu' held at Praja Bhavan, Bhatti said the Congress govt provided 21,000 crore in interest-free loans to SHGs in its first year. "Our annual target is to disburse at least 20,000 crore to women's groups. This is not just a scheme - it's a movement for economic transformation," he said.Along with ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and D Seethakka, Bhatti presented a 1.05 crore cheque to 151 mandal-level women's groups, who had leased buses to the TGSRTC.

He said this is a promising start, with more revenue-generating opportunities for SHGs in departments like education, transport, and energy. The deputy CM urged SHGs to meet between July 7 and 9 at village, mandal, and district levels to prepare business plans and identify projects.

Opportunities include supplying school uniforms, managing canteens, undertaking school repair works, and generating up to 1,000 MW of solar power under new energy department initiatives.

Bhatti added that SHGs will also be supported with bank linkages, accident insurance, and buyback of their products. Transport minister Ponnam said over 200 crore free bus trips by women have been recorded so far, with the govt reimbursing 6,500 crore to the RTC. "This scheme has also helped stabilise the RTC financially," he added.