Tamil Nadu has more than six lakh Self Help Groups with 92 lakh women as members.
20,000 women in Tamil Nadu are set to receive new mobile phones free of cost. 'Amma Mobiles', a new scheme announced by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will help trainers at Self Help Groups of SHGs to manage their work better.
Rekha, 32, leads a SHG of fisherwomen in a hamlet along the Marina Beach coastline in Chennai. Her role is to maintain voluminous records of loans, pensions, payments and savings of her group members. She is excited to hear about the new scheme and says her work will get much easier.
"Now you don't need a book or a pen. If Amma launches this scheme, you can record and save information with just a cellphone,' says Rekha.
The government said that they are also looking at developing a mobile phone application that will help thw women monitor the activities of these SHGs.
The mobile phones are the latest in the line of of subsidized 'Amma' products and services in Tamil Nadu which includes canteens and dispensaries.
Tamil Nadu has more than six lakh Self Help Groups with 92 lakh women as members. Analysts say the free mobile phones which will cost the government about Rs 15 crore could be another way to reach out to this pool of women voters.