Hyderabad: Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday announced that the state will make one crore women millionaires within five years. He spoke at the Indira Mahila Shakti programme held at Yousufguda’s Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy Stadium.
At the event, Vikramarka handed out ₹41.51 crore in interest-free loans through MEPMA to 8,130 women in Jubilee Hills constituency. The funds were distributed as cheques under GHMC’s self-help group (SHG) scheme.
Self-help groups to anchor women empowerment mission
Vikramarka said Hyderabad already has 63 lakh SHG members, including 5,09,957 women across 50,764 groups in 30 GHMC circles. The government plans to enroll more women and eliminate their reliance on high-interest moneylenders.
He stated that the Congress government had revived the interest-free loan scheme, which was dormant for a decade. Within its first year, the government surpassed its ₹20,000 crore loan target by disbursing ₹21,632 crore.
Entrepreneurship boost and public transport support
To back women entrepreneurs, the state has allotted 100 commercial shops at Shilparamam. It also helped SHGs purchase 150 buses that were leased to RTC. An additional 450 buses will be added soon.
The Deputy CM noted that the government’s free bus travel scheme has saved women an estimated ₹7,000 crore. The state reimbursed ₹7,422 crore to RTC for these trips.
Welfare schemes cover food, electricity, and healthcare
Vikramarka said 96 lakh families now receive 6 kg of fine rice per person every month, which costs ₹50 per kg in the open market. The scheme ensures food security across Telangana.
He also pointed out that the government resolved long-standing ration card issues by issuing new cards and updating existing ones. Moreover, poor and middle-class families now get 200 units of free electricity each month, with the state directly covering the bills.
Under Rajiv Arogyasri, families can access up to ₹10 lakh in free treatment at corporate hospitals. According to the Deputy CM, these combined efforts will make women both financially independent and socially empowered.
