Deputy CM stresses on women empowerment

Visakhapatnam: The state government is giving greater importance to Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), said Deputy Chief Minister B Mutyala Naidu.

Participating as a chief guest in a workshop of DRDA Project Directors (PD) held here on Wednesday, the minister mentioned three prestigious Navaratna schemes were implemented by the SERP.

At the workshop, the officials concerned were directed to include every poor woman who had completed 18 years of age for the training programme.

He directed the PDs of 26 districts to conduct surprise inspections to assess the performance of the staff and welfare programmes in order to check reality at the field level.

Mutyala Naidu stated that SERP members should be aware of the schemes of the government and take steps to ensure that the schemes reach out to the eligible poor. He said lakhs of crores of rupees have been spent on women's empowerment and the government was making efforts to strengthen them financially.

During the programme, MoUs were signed with the representatives of business organisations in the respective fields like Amul Dairy products, Ayekart and CSC.

The workshop was held in the presence of SERP CEO and MD Imtiaz Ahmed, Livelihood director Vijaya Kumari, DRDA Project Director SD Anitha, among others.