Rural women narrate stories on how Gruaha Lakshmi scheme helped build their lives

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar admiring a handmade beaded toy cradle gifted by one of the beneficiaries of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme at his home office in Bengaluru on Friday.

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s interaction with Gruha Lakshmi scheme beneficiaries in Bengaluru on Friday turned out to be a forum for hearing stories about how the monthly cash deposit by the scheme helped poor women not just build their lives, but also make significant achievements like helping their wards pursue higher education.

At the interaction, which was held at the Chief Minister’s home office to get feedback from beneficiaries on the occasion of the scheme completing three years of implementation, a woman from Chikkamagaluru district said: “My son is studying MBBS in Koppal. I paid the fee of around ₹59,000 using the Gruha Lakshmi money. Thanks to the Shakti (free bus travel for women) scheme, it has been convenient for me to visit my son frequently.”

Another woman from Channarayapatna said she was able to send her daughter to Malaysia for a dance performance with the help of Gruha Lakshmi money along with the family’s savings.

An aged woman from Laxmeshwar taluk in Gadag district emotionally observed, “The Gruha Lakshmi money has helped senior women buy their medicines and lead a life of dignity.” A woman from Kudligi taluk explained how their self-help group pooled the scheme money to take up sheep rearing. Everyone was surprised when she said that the group that started with five sheep now had 300 sheep and employed five men to look after them.

All the beneficiaries made a fervent appeal to the Chief Minister not to stop the scheme. Responding positively to the scheme, the Chief Minister declared that there was no question of discontinuing the scheme. He also issued strict instructions to beneficiaries against using the scheme money to give high-interest loans or indulging in chit fund businesses.

Pointing out that ₹86,000 crore had been spent so far on the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, the Chief Minister announced that when this reaches ₹1 lakh crore, a convention of Gruha Lakshmis would be held in all districts across the State.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister bought a toy cradle for his granddaughter from a beneficiary from Kalaburagi district who had used the scheme money for manufacturing and selling handicrafts.

Mr. Shivakumar revealed that the lines from a sad folksong “Tayi satta mele tavarige endu hogabaradavva, nayiginta kadeyagi hoyite nana balu kelavva...” had inspired him to plan the Gruha Lashmi scheme to help poor women.

“One night, when my cousin sang this folk song, the concept of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme occurred to me. To empower women, the Shakti and Gruha Lakshmi schemes were announced in the election manifesto,” he noted.