• About   |
  • Submit Guest Post |
  • Contact Us   |
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The Second Angle
Advertise
  • Infotainment
    • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
      • Home & Decoration
  • People
    • Inspiring
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • World
The Second Angle
  • Infotainment
  • Entertainment
  • People
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • World
Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Economy

Microfinance Loans Are The New Hope For Women In Kolkata

Women in Kolkata are running fruit nurseries with the help of microfinance loans in Kolkata.

Mohd Uzair by Mohd Uzair
June 12, 2021
in Economy
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Small Business Loan
Share on FacebookShare on WhatsApp
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT

Everyone is aware of the fact that India’s biggest issues as a developing country are unemployment and illiteracy. There are 22 wards in West Bengal suffering from these issues.

Most of the population in these wards belong to an ordinary farming community and spend most of their time turning to swatches of paddy jute and mustard but no one turns an eye over them.

RelatedPosts

Small Business Loan

What are the Different Types of Small Business Loans?

Everything You Need to Know about Banglarbhumi West Bengal

Everything You Need to Know about Banglarbhumi West Bengal

In Chapla village, there are 35000 residents but the most affected population is women. Many of them haven’t even completed their schooling and only get offered low-paying jobs like sewing that aren’t enough to sustain a lifestyle.

Microfinance Loans Are The New Hope For Women In Kolkata
image source: wsj

The source of income for the men of these villages is either farming or daily wage labor. They often need to travel or live in Kolkata for their jobs.

Muslima Bibi is one such woman, who is stuck in cycles of patriarchy and is trying her hardest to help her children to overcome this generational illiteracy and impoverishment.

Microfinance Loans Are The New Hope For Women In Kolkata
image source: livemint

Rubina Khatoon, another such woman was unable to get an education and has been dependent on her spouse for most of her adult life.

She got married at age of 21 and now has a young toddler to care for and must fulfill her responsibilities expected from a wife.

Rubina when talking to scroll. in said “My father’s income was low so I wasn’t able to study beyond class 9. I have four sisters, but our father’s income wasn’t enough to support us all. That is why we’ve all been married off.”

Rubina does household work almost every day like cooking, washing dishes, washing clothes.

According to Nazar, the founder of Zero foundation, government statistics contradict the actual literacy rate of that area.

According to the government, the literacy rate of that area is 60-70% but actually, it might be something around 20-30%.

Nazar claims that “Many people have attended school but don’t know how to read or write. We make arrangements for their learning, particularly Bengali language, mathematics, and English. So the first stage in their education and then we implement different types of income-generating projects.”

Giving women like Rubina and Muslima short-term independence is a non-profit organization, whose main goal is education.

Zero Foundation organizes local self-help groups that can apply for microfinance loans and kick-start small independent nurseries that sell fruit saplings to larger nurseries within West Bengal.

They also export to other states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh.

There are 150 such nurseries set up in India so far and have been selling 2-3 lacs saplings monthly.

Pesticides and insecticides are infrequently used in these nurseries unlike in traditional farms.

However, this business of agriculture can be especially risky in the region where over 80% of livelihood is aggravated.

West Bengal having a shallow coastline, storm ride patterns and climate changes is very much prone to hurricanes, landslides, and floods, which also destroy farmland.

In May 2020, West Bengal was hit by a powerful cyclone Amphang that caused damages worth an estimate of One lakh crore rupees.

Lack of capital is one of the major issues for women that makes farming more dangerous.

Most lenders of Chapla village give loans to women, not men. Lack of education leads women to be unaware of the amount they’ve been loaned and how much they have to repay.

Pawnbrokers there can permanently confiscate one’s asset if they don’t earn enough to repurchase it or if they misplace essential paperwork documenting the loan transaction.

Fatima Bibi, a female resident of Chapla, for the hunt of capital turned to a pawn shop and offered her gold jewelry gifted on her marriage as collateral.

She misplaced the receipt and never got her jewelry back.

Fatima bibi when talking to the team of the scroll.in complained “We know that according to the holy Quran that it is wrong to take large amounts of interest from someone as it is wrong to have to pay large interest to someone.

So we’ve never considered borrowing money where we’d have to pay interest but due to the poor financial situation I did pawn off my jewelry.”

Microfinance Loans Are The New Hope For Women In Kolkata
image source: rediffmail

In 2020, co-operated banks were brought under the supervision of the Reserve bank of India making the villagers’ dealings safer.

Access to legitimate banking institutions with the support of zero foundation has proved to be a turning point for the women who would otherwise have fallen prey to Queretaro lending practices.

Zero foundation has also guided local women towards more remunerative forms of cultivation.

The production costs include land rent, seeds, soil, labor, and body and range from a minimum of 4 rupees to a maximum of 100 rupees.

In the market, these fruit saplings are sold for almost double their production cost resulting in nurseries being a profitable, low-risk venture.

Now, Fatima earns about Rs 20,000 per month from the nursery which is enough for education for her son’s private education, running the household, and buying medicines for her mother who is ill.

She gained more respect after working in these nurseries.

Similar to Fatima, Muslima Bibi who used to get only  40 Rs a day, now has an inventory of saplings worth 35,000 rupees.

She witnessed a dramatic change in her quality of life.

Now, Chapla has 9 sapling groups run by approximately 300 women who share the duties of nurturing plants, purchasing seeds and soil, and maintaining accounts.

Also Read: Momo Wale Bhaiya, Zoheb Bhutia, This Sikkim Boy Feeds The Hungry Wins Many Hearts Amid The Covid Crisis

ShareSendTweet
Mohd Uzair

Mohd Uzair

A student of B-Tech in Civil Engineering in Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi who resides in Aligarh.

Related Posts

Small Business Loan
Economy

What are the Different Types of Small Business Loans?

choosing the right type of small Business Loan that is affordable and fulfils the funding requirement adequately is imperative. Here...

Read more
Everything You Need to Know about Banglarbhumi West Bengal
Economy

Everything You Need to Know about Banglarbhumi West Bengal

With the launch of Banglarbhumi, an online portal of West Bengal's land and property records department, citizens can now easily...

Read more
8 Reasons to Use a Housing Loan EMI Calculator
Economy

8 Reasons to Use a Housing Loan EMI Calculator

Home loan EMI calculators are readily available online; all a borrower has to do is go to the webpage of...

Read more
Some governments believe that it should be banned altogether, while others think that it should be regulated in the same way as traditional currency. So far, no country has come up with a perfect solution, and the future of cryptocurrency is still uncertain.
Business

Governments Struggle to Balance Cryptocurrency Regulation: How Will It Impact the Future of Digital Currency?

Some governments believe that it should be banned altogether, while others think that it should be regulated in the same...

Read more
Want To Learn How to Read Your Credit Card Statement?
Business

Want To Learn How to Read Your Credit Card Statement?

A credit card statement can be defined as a document that provides a comprehensive summary of how the credit card...

Read more
QR Code: Convenient and safe mode of digital payments
Economy

QR Code: Convenient and safe mode of digital payments

In the retail world, QR codes may be utilized in various techniques. QR Codes may help merchants engage with e-commerce...

Read more
Load More
Next Post
The Congress' Dilemma

The Congress’ Dilemma

Comments 2

  1. Pingback: Child Labour : Snatching Smiles From The Innocent Faces – The Second Angle
  2. Pingback: Peatlands Running Dry, Amounting To The Release Of Carbon Dioxide Worldwide – The Second Angle

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook Twitter Instagram Telegram

About

The Second Angle

A platform providing diverse views on various issues, providing an in-depth understanding of important developments happening around us. It offers you true journalism amidst the cacophony. Discover the latest news, opinions, analysis and a lot more here.

Important Links

  • About
  • Career
  • Guest Post
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • हिंदी

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

© 2017-23. The Second Angle. All Rights Reserved. Developed and Maintenance by SquareBase.io

No Result
View All Result
  • Infotainment
    • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
      • Home & Decoration
  • People
    • Inspiring
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • World
  • Login

© 2017-23. The Second Angle. All Rights Reserved. Developed and Maintenance by SquareBase.io

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version