Andhra Pradesh government ties up with ITC, HUL and P&G for women's economic empowerment

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday signed a pact with three FMCG companies -- Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), ITC and Procter and Gamble (P&G) -- for marketing and technology support for economic empowerment of women under two new schemes to be launched soon.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy here.

HUL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta, ITC Executive Director Sanjiv Puri and P&G India CEO Madhusudan Gopalan participated through a video conference.

"Women empowerment and their self-reliance are very vital for strengthening the rural economy," an official statement quoted the CM as having said in the meeting.

The companies will give handholding to women under the YSR Cheyutha scheme, to be launched on August 12, that aims to provide annual financial assistance of Rs 18,750 for next four years to women of 45-60 years age group belonging to SC, ST, backward class and minorities communities, it said.

The companies will help in providing marketing opportunities and technology support to women under this proposed scheme benefiting 25 lakh women in the state.

The government will spend Rs 4,500 crore for this scheme in the first year, it added.

Apart from YSR Cheyutha, the government said it plans to launch another scheme YSR Asara in September under which Rs 6,700 crore will be spent annually on 90 lakh women and 9 lakh self-help groups in the state.

"The partnership with companies will push women across the state to obtain more employment opportunities that will provide a steady income," it said.

HUL's Sanjiv Mehta said the company has been running a programme called Shakti for women empowerment in Chittoor district and is happy to work with the state government, the statement said.

ITC's Sanjeev Puri said the company can extend cooperation in watershed programmes, social forestry, health and sanitation and post harvesting.

P&G's Madhusudhan Gopalan said, "We are happy to be part of the YSR Cheyutha which would generate employment opportunities."

In a separate event, the Chief Minister also launched a web portal to provide information on various issues like cybercrime, harassment and other issues for women safety.

The portal will create awareness on how and where to complain about the crime, how to download Disha App and has all the important phone numbers to contact.