VU- Saksham to resolute commitment towards rural financial literacy

Aarya Deshpande (BAJMC Second Year)

Pune : The women empowerment centre – VU Saksham, of Vishwakarma University organised a financial literacy campaign jointly with National Security and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI) to aware rural women in Donaje and Mordari regarding proliferation of ponzi schemes and investment in government driven various welfare schemes for better and healthy future on 18th January 2024

Rural India has always been vulnerable to ponzi schemes and many high promising financial schemes Many villagers have lost their life fortunes by investing in these kinds of schemes. However, women play a vital role in family savings, and awareness among women regarding these schemes and new avenues of investment may cultivate desired results. Considering these thoughts, the empowerment centre has taken several initiatives. It identified villages and implemented the first phase of literacy programmes in Donaje and Mordari. The identified villages were located in hilly ranges of Sinhagad Fort located in east of Pune. As many as 60 women from both villages participated in the programme.

One of the participants in the campaign, Poonam Chavan said, “We save and keep money at home despite the availability of banks. Presence of the banking system is not new to us. But an appropriate investment is necessary for a sustainable future. The financial literacy programme helped us in the form of different avenues of investment than traditional fixed deposits. Now, we can save money in specific government schemes.

The SEBI extension officer Rohit Warman said, “The prime objective of the organisation is financial literacy and to secure them from ponzi schemes. We have focused on women, college students for financial literacy. We got a good response from village women today.

The programme coordinator Prof. Shekhar Paigude said, “ Financial literacy is a major concern in rural Maharashtra. Recent Ponzi schemes and high promises through equity markets have exploited the rural masses. Women play a vital role in the family. Thus empowering women leads towards family empowerment. We got a promising response in the first phase and we will have the same rigour for the next phase.”

By : Aarya Deshpande
(BAJMC Second Year)