The Union Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has revealed that in the current financial year, around 740 women artisans have been trained under the Mahila Coir Yojana (MCY) across India. Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, the Minister for MSMEs provided this data in the form of a written response to the Lok Sabha.
Out of these 740 women, 33 got employment in coir production units. As of December 19, 2022, the programme has benefitted 100 women in Tamil Nadu who received a stipend of ₹6,00,000 in total. In Maharashtra, 160 women benefitted from the programme and received a total stipend of ₹9,60,000. During the financial year of 2022-2023, ₹234 lakhs have been allocated to the MCY, out of which, ₹92.96 lakhs have been released for the 740 women beneficiaries.
The Mahila Coir Yojana falls under the various skill development programmes of the Coir Vikas Yojana. The National Coir Board is implementing the MCY to empower women artisans working in the coir sector. The programme aims to provide self-employment opportunities to rural women artisans in all the regions where coconut husk processing is a major sector. The upskilling of women artisans in the sector can and will improve the scope of large-scale employment and higher standard of living among rural women.
*Image used for representative purpose only.