‘Home Aayah’ scheme to skill SHG women

Amaravati: The state government is launching a special training programme to provide rural women with dignified employment and a stable source of income in and around their native villages, eliminating the need to migrate to other places for work, minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, rural poverty alleviation and NRI empowerment Kondapalli Srinivas said on Friday. In a statement, the minister announced that the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) would implement a specialised training programme titled ‘Home Aayah–Geriatric Caretaker’ to expand employment opportunities for Self-Help Group (SHG) women in the rapidly growing care economy.

Under the initiative, rural SHG women will receive free training, including accommodation, through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), he said.

The training will cover the care of elderly people and bedridden patients, personal hygiene, first aid and communication skills. Participants will also visit old-age homes, nursing homes and childcare centres to gain practical exposure and understand the requirements of caregiving services.

Special sessions will be conducted to familiarise women with banking services, digital transactions and financial management, enabling them to manage their earnings effectively and move towards financial independence.

The minister directed district project directors of the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) to identify interested SHG women and arrange their training through RSETIs. He stressed the need to identify suitable candidates and ensure that they benefit from the employment-oriented initiative. Srinivas said the training programmes would be implemented on a wider scale during the 2026–27 financial year. The initiative aims to equip rural women with marketable skills and connect them with employment opportunities in the care sector, where demand for trained caregivers is growing.

He called upon rural women to make use of the opportunity to enhance their professional skills, secure sustainable livelihoods and achieve economic self-reliance without leaving their families and native villages.

The programme is expected to strengthen women’s empowerment through skill development while creating a trained workforce to meet the growing demand for elderly and patient care services.

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