Chouhan announced at Self-Help Groups' Mahapanchayat that 40 lakh BPL families will be rid from poverty in next five years. He called upon the self-help groups to be partner in poverty elimination efforts. It is in the scenario of concern over the gradual decline in the "spirit of collective endeavour" and rising graph of poverty, exploitation and social injustice, the present state government has tried to combat poverty by launching various schemes aimed at improving the lot of the weaker sections. Encouraging Self-Help Groups for livelihood is one of these stupendous and remarkable tasks. Soon after taking over reins of Madhya Pradesh government, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been extending full support to the self-help groups movement and everything is being done by the government to ensure its success, analyses SMS News and Features. A new chapter was added on September 9, 2008 when Chouhan announced at Self-Help Groups' Mahapanchayat that 40 lakh BPL families will be rid from poverty in next five years. He called upon the self-help groups to be partner in poverty elimination efforts. Efforts to give a better deal to self-help groups were indeed revived in the year 2006 when a mega convention of self-help groups was organised at the Lal Parade ground in the State Capital which was attended by members of thousands of self-help groups to join hands and contribute for the progress of Madhya Pradesh. The state government had then assured the SHGs that everything would be done to ensure the success of this movement. Since them there have been a lot of success stories in this arena. Take the example of Durga Bai, an enterprising member of a self-help group who succeeded in selling brooms worth over Rs. 40,000 at a trade fair in Sharjah. She is one of the dedicated self-self workers who are striving to see that multinationals are not allowed convert our villages into a bazaar for their produce. Instead we will try and sell what we produce in the international market. It is remarkable that self-help groups now have the facility to sell their products at Bhopal Haat, Saras Melas as well as international trade fairs. After CM's announcement different works were identified for the self help groups and a special committee was set up to give suggestions in this regard. The State Public Relations Department acted as a nodal agency to coordinate related efforts. Existing as well as new self-help groups are active partners in the project. For various entrepreneurial activities, the project endorses these groups for capacity building and forging backward, forward and horizontal linkages. SHG movement touched a new high with the launch of the Self Help Groups(SHG) focused Tejaswini rural women empowerment Project by Madhya Pradesh Women Finance and Development Corporation in six districts of Madhya Pradesh indluding Mandla, Balaghat, Dindori, Panna, Tikamgarh and Chhatarpur. Tejaswini is supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Project launched in 2007 has duration of eight years. The six districts have been selected on the basis of poverty and gender inequality. The main goals of the project are as the creation and development of the strong and sustainable Self-Help Group and their apex organisations, linking these groups to banks and other institution for micro finance. Increasing livelihood opportunities for these Self-Help Group and empowering them to use these opportunities, empowering self-help groups for functional literacy, health, reduction of drudgery and increased participation for Panchayati Raj Institutions. Tejaswini project is developing 12000 Self-Help Groups and reach out to around 1.80 lakh women for social and economic empowerment. Regular meetings of SHGs and internal borrowing and lending are important aspects of this empowerment project. At the district level Project, Management Offices have also been established in Tejaswini. The Project aims to implement Tejaswini in collaboration with Government and Non Government Organisations. No doubt that the state government seems committed to eliminating poverty in the state. Madhya Pradesh is rich in forest, mineral, water and human resources and these resources would be exploited to the optimum to eliminate poverty in the state. Minimum wage for workers has been increased from Rs. 69 to Rs. 85 in the state. Now these wages would be increased with price hike. The announcements made at the SHG Mahapanchayat at Jamboree ground on September 11 included that 1) Hat Bazar would be set up at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh at every district headquarter to provide marketing facility for the products of Self-Help Groups, 2) Aprons, globs and other necessary material would be provided to the 50 thousand odd Self-Help Groups engaged in mid-day meal programme to ensure proper hygiene during cooking, 3) Twenty five rural development and self-employment training centres would be set up with the cooperation of banks for capacity building of members of Self-Help Groups by providing them vocational training. The state government would provide half acre land free of cost for establishment of these centres 4) A total of 1574 facilitation groups including the existing ones would be constituted for effective implementation of the Integrated Livelihoods Programme. A total of 13 thousand subject experts would be appointed in them, who would work towards making these groups strong and viable. The state government would provide Rs. 135 crore annually to meet the administrative expenditure of the offices of new 1126 teams. 5) Village uplift committees would be constituted in all the villages to provide loan to the members of Self-Help Groups to meet their minor needs. The loans would be provided through micro financing. 6) A Self-Help Group Promotion Policy-2007 has been implemented in the state for empowerment of Self-Help Groups 7) Loans at the lowest interest rate would be provided to the Self-Help Groups in the state. For this, the members would be required to pay only 5 percent interest. The rest would be provided by the state government in the shape of subsidy, 8) In order to link the Self-Help Groups to major markets their activity based federations would be constituted, 9) The products of Self-Help Groups may be directly purchased by government departments. The purchase rules would be suitably amended for this purpose and 10) The state government would provide 25 percent of the cost on office buildings, godowns, processing units of Self-Help Groups/their federations and land would be provided at concessional rates to them. If implemented with sincerity and dedication these decisions will certainly write a new chapter of progress and prosperity in the state. AA Farhan