Millennium Development Goal: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

ITC’s initiatives provide sustainable economic opportunities to poor women in rural areas by assisting them to form self-help groups that enable them to build small savings and finance self employment and micro enterprises. The programme has demonstrated that extra incomes in the hands of women lead to positive changes in human development since it is largely spent on children’s education, health and nutrition.

The total turnover of women-managed micro-enterprises during the year was Rs 61.14 lakhs, the bulk of which was accounted for by the sale of raw agarbattis and chikankari garments. The agarbatti rolling enterprises in Munger and Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh) registered a turnover of Rs 49 lakhs with total raw agarbatti production of 122 tonnes. The activity generated employment of 24,473 person days involving 698 rural women.