West Bengal gave $1.5 bn only to women: Mamata Banerjee at G20 meet

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee showcased a ‘humane’ government at the first G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in Kolkata on Monday.

Addressing guests and delegates at the meeting, Banerjee pointed to the women-centric schemes that doled out cash through direct benefit transfer. It combines digital financial inclusion, she said. “We have given $1.5 billion only to women,” she said.

Into her third term, Banerjee pointed out how the state GDP had grown manifold during the tenure of her government and about 12 million jobs have been created. “When everybody is losing, we are gaining. That is because we have given more power to women, self-help groups (SHGs), farmers, artisans, and students.”

About 1.2 million SHGs have been formed. The government provides money and credit and it is transferred directly from the treasury to the bank accounts of the beneficiary, Banerjee said.

The chief minister also said West Bengal was the top state for small industries and most of the jobs had been created by them. Financing availability to MSMEs, incidentally, is part of the agenda of the GPFI working group.

However, even as she showcased the state, Banerjee said India was a big country with many languages, caste, creed, and community, but it was united by the Constitution. “It is a big democratic country. The government of India is a different political party. Ours is a different one. Every political party when they do development work, it is their decision making,” she said.