Hyderabad, Feb. 21 -- Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said on Saturday that Rs 8,000 crore has been provided for women to avail loans on an individual basis, instead of as a self-help group.

Speaking to ANI, Pemmasani noted nearly 10 crore women in about 90 lakh self-help groups avail a total of Rs 2 lakh crore in loans annually. However, the government aims to provide individual loans to build individual enterprises.

The Union MoS, "Close to 10 crore self-help group women, 90 lakh self-help groups. Historically, they have been getting close to 12 lakh crore worth of loans. Every year, they take close to 2 lakh crores worth of loans. So now, instead of giving it to the groups, w...