Indian Overseas Bank launches Mahila Shaksham scheme to empower women entrepreneurs

Public sector Indian Overseas Bank on Saturday launched the ‘Mahila Shaksham’ scheme designed to finance individual Women Self-Help Group members under the Centre’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission initiative.

Aimed at benefitting women entrepreneurs by ensuring financial self-reliance, the scheme is in line with the Ministry of Rural Development’s ‘Lakhpati Didi Yojana’ scheme which is designed to improve the financial standing of women self-help group members.

“The goal is to ensure that these women earn a sustainable annual income of at least ₹1 lakh per household through financial assistance and entrepreneurial support,” Indian Overseas Bank said in a statement.

Some of the key features of the IOB-Mahila Shaksham Scheme include — financing for individual women self-help group members to foster entrepreneurship, credit support of up to ₹10 lakh to individual members of ‘Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission scheme’ among others.

It also promotes the financial independence of women and aims to deepen credit outreach to self-help group members, the statement added.