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The Tamil Nadu government has lined up several initiatives to encourage more women entrepreneurs in the state, the most significant being increasing lending through co-operatives, launching a new, common brand name and logo for products made by self-help groups (SHGs), and reservation of 30 per cent of plots for women entrepreneurs in upcoming industrial estates.
The state government has decided to bring all SHG products under one brand name and logo, to capture urban niche markets for SHG-made products. At present, producer-SHGs use their own labels and market the product on their own. This hinders the marketing of SHG products on a larger scale owing to fragmented availability under various labels.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has approved the brand name and logo for all SHG products. Standard Operating Procedures will soon be prepared for 50 products and SHGs authorised to use the brand name 'Mathi' (a Tamil word that means 'brain', which is also arrived at by combining the first two letters of 'Mahalir' with the first three letters of 'Thittam').
'Mahalir Thittam' (which means 'women's scheme') is a SHG-based programme whose aim is poverty reduction among women, is fully funded by the state government. Under this project, women are grouped into SHGs, offered systematic training and provided with bank credit for taking up income generation activities.
In the state, the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women has promoted SHG-made products by providing market intelligence, conducting product surveys, providing exhibition space, and advising on value addition and packaging. In 2012-13, more attention was paid to creating new avenues for marketing of SHG products through brand promotion, standardisation, labelling, e-commerce, campus exhibitions and promotion of an institutional framework for marketing.
So far, 556,000 SHGs have been formed under Mahalir Thittam across the state and around 8.5 million women are members, Munusamy said. The SHGs are provided adequate and timely credit at reasonable interest rates to further their economic activities and prevent them from falling into a debt trap. SHGs, if they are given a satisfactory credit rating by the rural development department, become eligible for credit from banks.
So far, Rs 19,417.57 crore has been provided as credit to SHGs in the state, with more than Rs 8,000 crore of this having been loaned in the last two years alone. The state government has also decided to offer an additional capital subsidy of five per cent (over and above the regular subsidy), subject to a maximum of Rs 2,00,000, to enterprises set up by women.
Sellur K Raju, Tamil Nadu's minister for cooperation, has said that cooperative credit institutions will continue to support women's SHGs by providing them with credit. In 2012-13, Rs 445.30 crore was disbursed in loans to 39,272 women's SHGs. In 2013-14, this is proposed to be increased to Rs 500 crore.
District central cooperative banks and urban cooperative banks provide loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to encourage women entrepreneurs to start small businesses and take up service activities. In 2012-13 (up to February 2013), Rs 39.06 crore was disbursed to 10,178 women entrepreneurs. In 2013-14, this is proposed to be increased to Rs 40 crore, the minister said.
