Kudumbashree has the potential to play a decisive role in raising Kerala’s economy to the level of middle-income countries, according to local self-government minister M B Rajesh.
Speaking at the inauguration of the three-day Rural Enterprise Incubator national workshop at Hotel Hycinth in Thiruvananthapuram, Rajesh said the mission has already empowered women socially, politically, culturally and financially. The next step, he noted, must be towards increasing incomes. The minister added that the workshop itself is expected to create new avenues for ensuring sustained earnings for women.
Rajesh also pointed out that Kudumbashree has played a crucial role in eradicating extreme poverty in the state, and that the government had achieved its target of placing one lakh women in jobs before Onam under the Vijnana Keralam scheme.
In his keynote address, rural development department secretary Shailesh Kumar Singh said a positive atmosphere will be created for the enterprises selected through the scheme. Kudumbashree director Rajeshwari S M remarked that the event would help in understanding both innovations and challenges in the sector.
The incubator programme is currently being implemented only in Kerala as a sub-scheme of the Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP).
The event also saw the participation of Assam Agricultural University vice chancellor Bidyut C Kheda, Kudumbashree executive director H Dineshan, and chief operating officer C Naveen.
