Women's Empowerment Is the Strong Foundation for Development - Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla

Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla said women’s empowerment is the strongest foundation for national development while inaugurating the APMAS Silver Jubilee celebrations and the two day national conference on “Community Led Pathways for Inclusive Growth” at Dr. MCR HRD Institute in Hyderabad. He praised APMAS for its 25-year journey in empowering women, farmers, and rural communities through innovation and social transformation.

The Governor said that as of March 31, 2025, over 17 crore rural families across India were linked to 1.43 crore Self Help Groups (SHGs), which had availed loans exceeding ₹3.04 lakh crore. In Telangana, APMAS has strengthened over 6 lakh SHGs, 23,000 federations, and 67 lakh women members. He also noted that Sthree Nidhi had disbursed more than ₹25,000 crore in loans to 32 lakh members by March 31, 2026, while APMAS is currently supporting 86 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) benefiting nearly 40,000 small and marginal farmers.