SARAS DWCRA exhibition begins in city

Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Kondapalli Srinivas on Monday said that the State government’s objective is to ensure that every woman becomes economically prosperous. He announced that the government is introducing a cluster system in every district with an investment of ₹5 crore and will establish Common Facility Centres (CFCs) at a cost of ₹10 crore each.

Inaugurating the All-India Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) Bazaar–2025 on Monday, organised by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) at the AU Engineering College Grounds in Visakhapatnam, the Minister stated that exhibitions like Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans Society (SARAS) are being organised to provide effective marketing platforms for products made by women members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). He recalled that the recent SARAS exhibition held in Vizianagaram recorded business transactions worth ₹12 crore and expressed confidence that the Vizag event would surpass that figure, as special arrangements have been made to ensure better market access.

The Minister along with Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad and others visited the stalls and interacted with the women entrepreneurs, before addressing the inaugural function, where he said that the exhibition was organised following requests from SHG members. He announced that the next SARAS exhibition would be held in Guntur.

District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad informed that 250 stalls have been set up including food stalls, and cultural programmes will be organised to entertain visitors. He assured that all necessary facilities have been provided for women participants and reiterated the government’s commitment towards women’s development and economic self-reliance. He urged women to make the best use of the opportunity, assuring them of continued support from the administration.

Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu also spoke.