Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka stated that the State government is prepared to allocate any amount of money to empower women for achieving the financial independence.

He made these remarks during an event where he distributed interest-free loans to women’s self-help groups in Yousufguda, part of the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in Hyderabad, on Saturday.

The Deputy Chief Minister said there is no need to approach moneylenders and women will no longer have to rely on high-interest moneylenders for capital. He alleged that women’s groups were neglected during the previous BRS government and for the last 10 years, no one paid attention to women’s self-help groups.

“In Hyderabad, there are 63 lakh members in self-help groups, with 5,09,957 members across 50,764 groups in 30 circles under GHMC jurisdiction. The state government plans to significantly increase this number in the coming days,” Bhatti Vikramarka said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said many poor and middle-class families in Hyderabad rely on women running small businesses alongside their husbands to support their households. However, high-interest loans from moneylenders often consume their profits, he said. The government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, aims to make one crore women millionaires in the next five years.

Despite doubts from opposition parties and some individuals about the feasibility of providing Rs20,000 crore in interest-free loans annually, the government has already disbursed Rs 21,632 crore in the first year, setting a record and proving its commitment, he said.

Through MEPMA, Rs 41.51 crore in interest-free loans were distributed in the form of cheques, benefiting 8,130 women in Jubilee Hills constituency.

The Deputy CM said the State government has reimbursed over Rs 7,400 crore to the TGSRTC) towards women’s free travel.

“Women have availed 222.50 crore free bus journeys, with the state government reimbursing Rs 7,422 crore to TGSRTC on their behalf, saving them nearly Rs 7,000 crore in travel expenses,” he said.

He added that women’s groups are being supported to purchase buses, which are then leased to the RTC. So far, 150 buses have been leased, with plans to add 450 more soon.

Ministers Seethakka, Ponnam Prabhakar and Vivek Venkataswamy, GHMC Mayor Gadwala Vijayalakshmi and Congress leaders, including Mohammed Azharuddin were present in the programme.