Mobilise SHGs, Minister tells NGO Confederation

New Delhi, Jul 15 (UNI) A confederation of rural NGOs was today asked if it could link up the country's thousands of rural Self Help Groups so that the village women's produce gets marketed by big business.

The proposal was made by Union Panchayat Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar at a national seminar that discussed SHG issues threadbare as also how to push them from being micro credit societies to micro enterprises.

The Minister asked the Confederation of NGOs of Rural India, which boasts a membership of about 2500 rural NGOs and claims a presence in 29 states, if it could bring the SHGs on a common platform.

As many as 72 private companies would be interested in marketing the over 800 different types of products of SHGs, he told the seminar, which attracted participants from all parts of the country.

''I am ready to join hands with NGOs and would get all information about the work that can be done,'' the Minister said.

UNI XC MSJ HS2149