Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday launched `YSR Cheyutha'-- a scheme for ensuring a sustainable livelihood.

It will hand-hold the beneficiaries for four years with a financial assistance of ₹75,000. This was one of the poll promises made by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) before elections last year.

Under this scheme, about 23 lakh women belonging to SC, ST, BC Minorities in the age group of 45-60 years will be getting ₹18,750 per annum for a period of four years, aggregating to ₹75,000. The initiative aims at economic empowerment and self-reliance of women.

Government spends ₹4,687 crore annually for the scheme.

While affirming that it was his good fortune to launch the scheme, Chief Minister said that during his 3,648-km padayatra a lot of women told that there are no government scheme for 45-60-year-old women.

“YSR Cheyutha is an answer to all such anomalies and we have gone one step ahead by not only by providing financial aid but also by opening up opportunities for entrepreneurship, starting from small grocery store to dairy and food processing and we are also showing the way for getting bank loans in their endeavour,'' the Chief Minister said.

Those who are in the last lap of the age group will get YSR Pension Kanuka which will compensate the financial aid and for those who are in the younger group (43-44) will be eligible to avail the Cheyutha scheme in the two year’s time. Thus, every year, the number of beneficiaries keeps changing with new additions and those who are going into the YSR Pension Kanuka fold, he said.

The beneficiaries will have full freedom on how they would like to spend the annual amount of Rs 18,750 and there are no restrictions or compulsions. For those who want to invest the money, the village volunteers will come to the beneficiaries with a two-page letter to take their consent and the State has a business model ready made for them.

The State has signed MoUs with ITC, Proctor & Gamble, HUL, Amul and Reliance besides banks and business opportunities will be open for those women who need help in starting small or medium business units. In the coming days there would be MoUs with more and more major business houses which will create more and more business opportunities.

These companies will supply their products at the price they are supplying to their Agents or even for less so that the women entrepreneurs will get more profit. Amul Cooperative will help out in the dairy industry.

SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) and Mission for Elimination of Poverty and in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) will coordinate in the process.

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