Dharmasthala Gramabhivruddhi Yojana wins national award

Mangaluru: Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Gramabhivruddhi Yojana B.C. Trust has received the Ilaben Memorial Award for Best Women-Friendly Financial Institution for 2025-26 at the 21st national conference organised by Sa-Dhan in New Delhi.

The award recognises the organisation’s efforts to provide a safe workplace, a supportive working environment and equal opportunities for women employees, according to a release.

The organisation functions under the guidance of Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade and Mathrushree Hemavathi V Heggade.

Chief Executive Officer Anil Kumar S S, Chief Financial Officer Shantharam R Pai and regional directors Geetha B and Dayasheela received the award on behalf of the trust.

Sa-Dhan is an RBI-recognised self-regulatory organisation with 210 financial institutions registered as members. Its membership includes banks, business correspondent institutions, non-banking financial companies, small finance banks, microfinance institutions and cooperative societies. The award commemorates Ilaben’s contribution to women’s empowerment and is a national-level recognition in the microfinance sector.

Of the Gramabhivruddhi Yojana’s 41,000 employees, around 29,000 are women. The organisation provides workplace safety measures, regular training, technological support and equal opportunities for career advancement. Its transfer policy takes employees’ family circumstances into account, while transparent promotion procedures aim to ensure equal opportunities.

The trust has also introduced training on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act for selected women employees and has a system to address violations of workplace safety rules. Women employees are provided health insurance coverage worth around Rs 5 lakh annually, along with health awareness programmes and medical camps.

Under the guidance of Hemavathi Heggade, the organisation operates 6,547 Jnanavikasa centres, benefiting 3,29,609 members. Through its B.C. service, around 42 lakh women have accessed loans from banks at relatively low interest rates, helping them strengthen their livelihoods and improve their social and economic status.

Anil Kumar said women employees had played a key role in the organisation’s achievements and acknowledged their contribution to its growth and community development.

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The Hans India