J-K: Women In Rajouri Doing Small Businesses Under NRLM UMEED Scheme

Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) [India]: Women in Jammu’s Rajouri have started small businesses under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), UMEED Scheme as a part of women empowerment.

The visuals showed women preparing and selling pickles as a part of their small business.
One of the members associated with the UMEED scheme said that the scheme has helped in decline of unemployment among the women in the area.

‘…We made people aware about the NRLM UMEED scheme and at present all the women in the Panchayat have joined this scheme due to which our unemployment has been declining rapidly…” she said.

Setting the records straight, the UMEED scheme of J&K Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM) since 2019 has been working relentlessly to engage women from marginalized sections of society into gainful livelihood ventures.

Another woman involved in small business through the scheme told, “our area was a backward area so females did not use to agree on going out but after the UMEED scheme has been introduced, the situation has changed…”

The statistics of women entrepreneurs of Jammu & Kashmir utilizing the benefits under UMEED scheme has been among top ten states and UTs for performance and giving employment to other women who were financially weak.

Notably, The UMEED programme under J-K national rural livelihoods mission is a centrally sponsored scheme to encourage women to be self-dependent and self-sufficient. It also encourages women to make small savings so that their Self-Help Groups (SHGs) eventually become bankable at a reduced rate of interest.