JSPLFOUNDATION CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – LAUNCHES JANA JEEVIKA EXPRESSFOR WOMEN SHGs.

Bureau,Odishabarta

Angul, March 08, 2020:JSPL Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Arm of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) launched ‘Jan Jeevika Express’ to facilitate promotion and sale of various products made by Women Self Help Group (WSHG) members in Angul District.

Collector & District Magistrate of Angul Sri Manoj Kumar Mohanty launched the programme by inaugurating the ‘Jana Jiveeka Express’ vehicle during International Women’s Day-2020 celebration on 8th March’2020 at Zilla Parishada Conference Hall, Angul in presence of PD, DRDA Atulya Kumara Champatiray, ADM Sri Tapan Satapathy, CEO of ORMAS Sri Souravmaya Das, DSWO Smt. Alma Barua, GM (CSR) of JSPL Smt. Puspalata Satapathy and other dignitaries.

‘Jana Jeevika Express’, which is designed on ‘Bazar on Wheel mode, is an initiative for marketability of Self Help Groups/Producer Groups marketable product in convergence with ORMAS, Odisha Livelihood Mission, Mission Shakti and JSPL Foundation, is one of the marketing channel towards economic empowerment of WSHGs.

Congratulating Team for launching the Jan Jeevika Express, Chairperson of JSPL Foundation Ms. Shallu Jindal said “I am happy to know that on International Women’s Day 2020, JSPL Foundation has launched the Jan Jeevika Express in collaboration with Government Agencies for enabling the SHGs to market their products in the urban area and augment their income on a sustainable basis.  This will help the rural women to generate a supplementary income on regular basis enhancing their socio economic empowerment”.

The objective of the ‘Jana Jiveeka Express’ are to strengthen the women power of the local community who has the ability to supplement the family income, to provide platform to the SHGs to showcase their abilities as a producer and also as a seller, to make local products available to the people every day and to improve the visibility of the local products.

Women Empowerment is one of the major thrust areas of JSPL Foundation, which began in 2009 through formation and revival of Women Self-help Groups (WSHGs). Most of the members of WSHGs were from similar socio-economic backgrounds.

The SHGs are consistently being  motivated for small savings among the members and these savings are being  deposited in the bank as a common fund in the name of the SHG. This fund is available to the members in times of emergency as loans at a nominal interest rate. JSPL Foundation took steps to provide them hand holding support towards their income generation activities by placing a revolving fund to the SHGs to cater to their working capital needs.

In convergence with appropriate Government and Development Agencies, JSPL Foundation has been undertaking various programmes for upliftment of capacity of these WSHG members for which they have undertaken numerous income generation activities, supplementing family income and becoming financially self-sufficient.  With the support of the JSPL foundation more than 600 women are engaged in Income generation activities through several micro enterprises. About 45 artisan groups have been trained and provided common platform for exhibiting their products and sell on terracotta products. A few SHGs are engaged in “Sugandhi”- incense stick manufacturing unit – a joint initiative by ORMAS, JSPL and ITC Ltd in Public Private Partnership mode.

With the support of Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) & Mission Shakti, the SHGs are participating in rural fairs at various locations every year. This year, Self Help Groups formed under JSPL’s CSR interventions have been represented at 17 national / State / District level sales exhibitions / fairs. Eleven Self Help Groups in five villages are presently engaged in mushroom production, laying 5000 beds per month and are earning an assured supplementary income on regular basis.

JSPL Foundation also organised other important events on International Women’s Day-2020 in collaboration with District Administration.

The celebration was inaugurated by District Collector. During the occasion, two of the Anganawadi workers were felicitated by District Collector for the successful implementation of “SNEHA” Programme launched by JSPL Foundation in convergence with District administration, ICDS, Health administration of Angul for eradication of malnutrition in Pallahara Block. Further three Anganawadi Workers were felicitated by District Collector for their continuous effort for controlling adolescent anaemia under Kishori Express, a project of JSPL Foundation in collaboration with District Administration to control the adolescent anaemia in Angul and Banarapal Block.

One of the Women Self Help Group namely Maa Hingula WSHG which  is supported JSPL Foundation under CSR Project of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd was felicitated under Mission Shakti Programme by District Collector for its achievement towards Income Generation Activities.