Rs 4,687 Crore Allocated Under YSR Cheyutha, To Benefit 23 Lakh Minority Women

AMARAVATI: As part of the YSR Cheyutha scheme launched by the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the State government has earmarked Rs 4,687 crore for this year as part of the scheme.

The YSR Cheyutha scheme launched last year on August 12 aims at equipping women of SC/ST/OBC/minority castes to create their own employment opportunity.

Also Read: AP CM YS Jagan Launches YSR Cheyutha For Women Of The Downtrodden

Through this scheme, financial assistance will be provided to women. The amount would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries of the scheme as part of the DBT process.

The YSR Cheyutha Scheme is  intended to enable economic progress through women by helping them financially. The State government is providing marketing and technical assistance to the women interested in investing the amount received by them in business and to ensure sustainable livelihood for women through this scheme.

The scheme involves financial benefit of Rs 75,000 to be provided over a period of four years to women who come under 45 to 60 years of age. 

In the coming four years, Rs 18,750 per year will be provided to beneficiaries. The purpose of this scheme is to strengthen the rural economy of Andhra Pradesh and it is going to benefit 23 lakh women from SC, ST, BC and minority communities.

Around eight lakh widows and single women who are in the age group 45 to 60 years are receiving pension of Rs 27,000 per year and in addition to this, they would receive Rs 18,750 per year, which will make the total amount to be Rs 45,750 per year for each beneficiary.

The government of Andhra Pradesh has also signed a memorandum of understanding with companies like Amul, Reliance, Hindustan Unilever Limited, etc in order to strengthen the rural economy. These companies will provide marketing opportunities and technical support to more than 25 lakh women of the state.

Women from castes like Budaga Jangamas, Benti Odia, who are not able to get caste certificates, have also been provided financial assistance based on their self-declaration and will get the benefit of the YSR Cheyutha Scheme.

A government order was issued by Panchayat Raj and Rural Development stating that the beneficiaries who become eligible after attaining 45 years as on August 12 of every year, will receive the benefits of the scheme.

Those who are already enrolled and cross the upper age limit of 60 years will cease to receive the benefits as such beneficiaries will move on to Pension Kanuka, subject to their eligibility.

Under the first phase of YSR Cheyutha Scheme, the government has provided financial assistance of Rs 18,750 to 21,00,189 beneficiaries which amount to Rs. 3,937.90 Crores.

The State government has released the second phase of YSR Cheyutha Scheme on November 13, 2020 of Rs 510 crore for 2.72 lakh beneficiaries. The women who were not able to receive the benefit of the scheme in the first phase would be covered in the second phase of the scheme.

Also Read: Rs 510 Crore Released Under 2nd Phase Of YSR Cheyutha Scheme For Women

Cattle Purchase under the YSR Cheyutha Scheme

Under this scheme, all the beneficiaries would be given support to sell their produce to Amul. The government is planning to distribute cattle (cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep) purchased from Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and from the State itself to the beneficiaries of the YSR Cheyutha Scheme. An amount of Rs 5,386 crore has been earmarked for cattle purchase by the government.

The government will provide facilities for collecting milk at Rythu Bharosa Kendras from the beneficiaries at 9,688 centres.

Unlike previous governments, which only focused on welfare of women in age group of 20-40 and those beyond 60 years, the state government under the leadership of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was focusing on lending a helping hand to those in age group of 45-60 to stand on their own feet.

YSR Cheyutha aims at empowering the families through women and helping them in creating a steady income generation avenue. The objective is to enhance the family income by 15-18 per cent.

In the first phase, 21 lakh beneficiaries were extended Rs 3,932.90 crore and in the second phase, another 2.72 lakh beneficiaries were provided with a financial assistance of Rs 510 crore. Like in the first phase, Rs 18,750 will be credited to the accounts of each beneficiary.

The main objective of this scheme is to help women gain a steady income source, for which the government entered into Memorandum of Understandings with several leading multinational corporations like P&G, Hindustan Unilever, Allana, Reliance, Amul. Further, the government is facilitating marketing and technical expertise to the beneficiaries.

Out of 23.72 lakh beneficiaries, 11.95 lakh showed interest in self-employment and out of them, 1.48 lakh were interested in setting up retail shops.

Bank loans worth Rs 53.60 Crore were facilitated to the beneficiaries. The government’s initial target was to set up 31,860 retail shops out of which approximately 27,850 retail shops were set up. Approximately, 87 per cent of the target set by the government was achieved.

Inputs From News18  article by YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy

Committed to strengthen the rural economy of AP, under the leadership of Hon. CM @YSJagan Garu, the ‘YSR Cheyutha Scheme’ will be providing financial benefits to 23 Lakh women from SC/ST/OBC/minority castes. Sharing my article published on @news18dotcom.https://t.co/hX3Hjd8wmf

— Vijayasai Reddy V (@VSReddy_MP) January 17, 2021