NCDC Managing Director Mrs Vasudha Mishra ably fielded questions from women cooperators who have turned in large number to attend the Regional Assembly of ICA Asia-Pacific at the Hotel Ashoka in Delhi Wednesday. The occasion was the 9th Regional Women’s Forum.
Participating in the programme titled “Women in Cooperatives” Mrs Mishra expounded at length the role of NCDC in furthering the cause of cooperatives in the country. Later, she took questions from the participants.
Responding to Bhopal cooperator Arti Bisaria’s query Mrs Mishra said NCDC’s guidelines which were more strict in the past have been relaxed from this January. “Earlier NCDC would give loans to only those cooperatives which were at least three years old but now it gives loans also to new cooperatives should they meet its parameters”, she added.
She also said NCDC has also begun to finance primary cooperative societies now which was not the case in the past.
Responding to a query from Mrs Aparna from Kerala NCDC MD said Kerala is treated as a cooperatively developed state and thus there had not been provision of subsidy for the state. “We however give 15% subsidy to women cooperatives and also to fishermen cooperatives”, she added.
While Savitri Singh was the Programme Coordinator of the show, ICA’s DG Charles Gould was sitting on the dais along with NCDC MD.
Jaya Arunachalam, President of Working Women Federations – a network of women cooperatives in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra made an interesting presentation post-lunch. She explained in detail the role being played by WWF and how it has brought about fundamental changes among the women of the region.
