If all goes according to plan, women inmates in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison will soon turn entrepreneurs.
If all goes according to plan, women inmates in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison will soon turn entrepreneurs.
On March 10, over 30 women convicts will undergo a month-long training on preparing bakery delicacies.
The Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) has taken the unique initiative to train 30 women prisoners as part of the women’s empowerment programme.
“The prison authorities have prepared a list of 30 women who will attend baking classes for a month,” said Sarojini Bharadwaj, chairperson, KSWDC.
The training programme will first be introduced as a pilot at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
“It will be extended to other prisons after a few months,” she said.
Elaborating on the training programme, she said: “There is a provision to sell bakery items at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. The successful trainees will prepare these bakery snacks and also sell it to other prisoners. The prison authorities will provide a separate pushcart to these jailbirds to sell their wares on the prison premises,” she said.
The KSWDC will also train the prisoners on stitching garments.
“There is a lot of scope for women prisoners to make a living after successfully completing the training. The prison authorities will help them take garment-stitching orders from various government departments,” she said.
The KSWDC will also be extending financial help to self help groups (SHGs).
It will start distributing loans to 1,000 women entrepreneurs in Bangalore.
“Each woman entrepreneur is entitled for a bank loan of Rs1 lakh. Those belonging to SC/ST categories will get a subsidy Rs10,000 and those from general category will receive Rs7,500 from the KSWDC. Women SHGs will get a bank loan of up to Rs15 lakh,” she said.
Elaborating on the initiatives taken for the welfare of devadasi women in the state, she said the KSWDC conducted a survey in 14 districts to identify devadasis.
“There are 46,000 devadasis in the state. The government has been providing a pension of Rs400 and financial assistance of Rs40,000 for the construction of houses. They are getting 50% subsidy on the loans given for self-employment,” she said.
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