In solidarity with the State Government in celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Indian Independence “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” from 1st July to 14th August 2021, Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM), RD in collaboration with Nagaland Rural Bank (NRB) disbursed a loan amounting to Rs. 98 lakhs to the 75 Self Help Groups on 13th August 2021.

On the occasion, Joint Secretary, RD and Mission Director, Imtimenla, stated that the State Mission objective was to bridge the trust between banks and the poor and added that the State Mission and the banks have contributed equally to make the SHG members “Credit Worthy” over the years. Imtimenla said that the State Mission is encouraged by the NRB’s Chairman proactive initiative in providing the loans to the SHGs. She informed that currently, there are 246 SHGs accessing financial services from NRB and expressed hope that the joint effort will continue to increase financial service coverage and bring change in the lives of the poor and marginalised.

Chairman, Head Office, NRB, Mr. V. Venkata Narayana, expressed his confidence in the credit worthiness of the SHGs. He noted that timely repayment of the SHGs is appreciable and that NRB will continue to support access to credit linkage to eligible SHGs.

Chief Operating Officer (COO-Programs), NSRLM, M. Rollan Lotha, conveyed that the State Mission have established strong Community Based Recovery Mechanism (CBRM) committee in banks where SHGs are transacting. The committee comprises of the Bank Manager and the SHGs cadres wherein the committee ensures access to loans by the SHGs and their timely repayment to the Banks. To access the loan, each SHG member develop their Household Investment Plan (HIP) which is consolidated as Micro Credit Plan (MCP) at the SHG level. Regular handholding on building their knowledge and skills for taking up viable livelihoods is imparted to ensure that the plans are credit worthy. The loan provided to the SHGs on the occasion of 75th Independence Day by NRB is an encouragement to the rural households and the joint collaboration is a step towards universal coverage of Financial Inclusion in Nagaland, he stated.       

The programme was chaired by SPM-FI, Rajuselie Lhousa and attended by Mission Director, COO-Programs and Imonenla Imkong Phom, SPM-IBCB from the State Mission, while the Bank was represented by the NRB Chairman and Bank Managers of NRB branches.

                                                                                    (Wepre Kronu, APRO)