Women self-help groups (SHGs) in the State would have a major role to play in the area of food processing since the government is planning to establish food processing units in every Assembly constituency to complement the regulated farming being advocated, Principal Secretary (Panchayat Raj & Rural Development) Sandeep Kumar Sultania has said.

Speaking during a visit to exhibition of SHGs’ products with “Maha” brand at the Technology and Training Development Centre at Bandameedipalli near Mahabubnagar on Thursday, Mr. Sultania said though he was associated with women SHGs for past two decades it was the first time he was witness to sale of their products with a brand name.

He complimented the SHG women of Mahabubnagar district for having entered into marketing tie-ups with e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart for sale of their products. He suggested the SHGs to take up bigger projects and the government was ready to extend financial assistance through Stree Nidhi Bank.

Collector S. Venkata Rao said the SHG groups which were in dormant stage during the lockdown were activated with different tasks and challenges including stitching of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits. The SHGs were given ₹45 crore linkage loans during the last one month.

SHGs in the district had made over 5.5 lakh face masks and had the capacity to produce 1 lakh masks in 48 hours. They were selling about 50 quality products with the help of Amazon and Flipkart, Mr. Venkata Rao said. More products would be added soon, he averred.