Bhubaneswar: The ‘Atmanirbhar Mahila SuVahak’ (Ama SuVahak) scheme, a flagship program of the State Government, has emerged as a significant milestone in making the women of Odisha financially self-reliant and increasing their participation in the transport sector.
In a program organized today at Kharavel Bhavan, the keys to a new vehicle were handed over to another beneficiary, Bhanupriya Behera. Bhanupriya had received her training from the Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) at Chhatia in 2019. With her inclusion, a total of seven women drivers have now become car owners under this scheme.
Shri N.B.S. Rajput, Principal Secretary of the Commerce & Transport Department, and Shri Amitabh Thakur, Transport Commissioner, along with other senior officials, were present at today’s program to hand over the car keys to Bhanupriya Behera and encouraged her to further increase her participation in the transport sector.
With the objective of increasing the earnings of women drivers, the scheme provides interest-free loans up to Rs 10 lakh in coordination with banks. The State Government also bears 10 percent of the ex-showroom price of the vehicle as a down payment. Additionally, the Government acts as the guarantor and bears the credit guarantee charges and all interest expenses for the vehicle.
The Government has made a budgetary provision of Rs 46.66 crore to create 1,100 ‘Atmanirbhar Mahila SuVahaks’ in the state over the next four years.
In this scheme, priority is being given to women drivers of OSRTC and CRUT, members of Self-Help Groups (SHG), and beneficiaries of the ‘Subhadra’ scheme.