Recently, the city of New Delhi played host to the Saras Food Festival 2022, an event organized to celebrate and promote ethnic and home-made handicrafts, paintings, toys, and more, all created by women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
The Concept Behind Saras Food Festival
Saras Food Festival is an initiative launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Development with an overarching aim to empower women at a large scale. The festival pulls together women from self-help groups which have been formed under the umbrella of the ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ – a flagship scheme put in place by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The event provides these women with an opportunity to showcase their culinary skills and introduce attendees to the diverse food culture of India.
One of the key aspects that stands out about these women is their proficiency in creating rural products and traditional dishes typical to their states. For improved marketing of Saras products crafted by these women, the Ministry has kick-started an e-commerce portal.
There are approximately 8 crore 62 lakh women who are part of SHGs which have a presence in 97% of Blocks. Around 85% of them are in direct contact with the network of the Ministry. Efforts are being made to ensure that at least 25% of all sales made by women-led SHGs are facilitated through e-commerce portals on an annual basis.
Expansion Plans
To amplify its reach, the Ministry plans to establish Saras stalls managed by women from SHGs at state capitals, major cities, metros, airports, and railway stations across the country.
Understanding Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
Self-Help Groups or SHGs are informal associations formed by individuals who seek ways to better their living conditions. Essentially, they are self-governed, peer-controlled groups comprising people with similar socio-economic backgrounds who collectively strive for a common purpose. SHGs essentially leverage the concept of “Self Help” to stimulate self-employment and alleviate poverty.
Their objectives involve building functional capacities of the poor and marginalized in employment and income-generating activities, resolving conflicts through collective leadership and mutual discussion, providing collateral-free loans with terms decided by the group at market-driven rates, and functioning as a collective guarantee system for members wishing to borrow from organized sources.
The members pool their savings and deposit them in banks. In return, they gain easy access to loans with minimal interest to launch their micro unit enterprise.
Implications for UPSC Civil Services Examination
A commonly recurring question in the UPSC civil service examination concerns the ways in which the National Rural Livelihood Mission looks to improve the livelihood options of rural poor. The accurate answer is that it does so by strengthening ‘self-help groups’ and providing skill development. Misconceptions often revolve around it setting up new manufacturing industries and agribusiness centers, or supplying free seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-sets, and micro-irrigation equipment, all of which are incorrect.
Therefore, the spotlight remains on nurturing self-employed entrepreneurs and enhancing existing livelihood opportunities for the rural poor, demonstrating the central role SHGs play in empowering the Indian populace.