Usha International, SIDBI to set up 700 Usha Silai Schools in 3 states

Consumer durables major Usha International and SIDBI on Monday announced setting up of 700 Usha Silai schools in aspirational districts and calamity prone areas of select states.

The schools will be set up in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand under phase-II of the flagship initiative 'Mission Swavalamban'.

Under the phase-I of the initiative, 1,000 Usha Swavalamban Silai Schools were set up in five states - Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. 200 schools were up and running in each state in 2019, it said.

The objective of these schools is to skill rural women in sewing and stitching to financially empower them and make them 'homepreneurs', it added.

"We are sure these 700 new Silai Schools in the Government of India shortlisted aspirational districts/ calamity affected areas will go a long way in making a real impact by training thousands of people, improving their lives and the lives of their families," Usha International CEO Dinesh Chhabra said.

These schools will pave the way for a better tomorrow by developing rural women as entrepreneurs in their own right, and an earning power that helps them meet their aspirations. It underscores the company's commitment to skill people in order to create a more equitable world, he said.

SIDBI chairman and managing director Mohammad Mustafa, said, "In the second phase besides tailoring skills, we shall impart exposure on entrepreneurship and life skills. This aligns with our Mission Swavalamban which intends to spread entrepreneurship culture, family being the focal point."

The bank will continue to leverage partnership for including the excluded as also serving the unserved. "We firmly believe that strengthening villages through enterprise enabler steps is important for the national mission of Atma Nirbhar Bharat," he added.

At Usha Silai Schools, training will be imparted on various aspects of stitching along with maintenance and repairing of sewing machines by expert trainers of Usha International.

The women entrepreneurs successfully completing the training program will be provided with a Usha Sewing machine (leg paddle driven), a certificate, a training-kit, and a Usha Swavalamban Silai School Signage board, the company added.

The Silai School program, initiated in 2011, is a pan India community based rural initiative of Usha International Ltd.This social initiative is aimed at empowering women from marginalized sections of the communities residing in the remote hamlets, habitations and villages of India.

Presently, there are 23,000 Silai Schools across India, 100 in Nepal and 20 in Sri Lanka and three production centers in Bhutan.