TIRUPATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday transferred Rs 1,261 crore as interest reimbursement directly into the accounts of 1.02 crore women belonging to 9.76 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) under the YSR Sunna Vaddi (zero interest) scheme's third tranche.

The Chief Minister, speaking at a ceremony to commemorate the occasion at PVR Municipal High School in Ongole, said the state government was committed to women's empowerment, citing initiatives such as Sunna Vaddi, Aasara, and Cheyutha as examples.

"The government has distributed Rs 3,615 crore under the YSR Sunna Vaddi programmes in the last three years, helping women who had repaid their loans on time. "The government has talked to banks and decreased women's interest rates from 12.5-13.5 percent to 8.5-9.5 percent," the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister added that since the government's inception, Rs 1,36,694 crore has been disbursed through direct benefit transfer (DBT) without the use of middlemen or corruption, with Rs 94,318 crore of that amount going directly to women beneficiaries.

He dig at the opposition, saying they were worried about the administration of welfare systems and were launching propaganda campaigns about public finances. He claimed that the nine social initiatives known as 'Navaratnalu' had altered the lives of the poor.

"In terms of revenues and loans, our government is identical to the previous one." Despite the fact that it has less borrowings than the previous one, all of the planned programmes are being carried out in a transparent manner. "We have accomplished what Naidu was unable to accomplish throughout his term," the Chief Minister stated. Despite the financial difficulties caused by Covid-19, he claimed, the government had launched the welfare packages.

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