ISB & Odisha govt join hands to empower rural women through robust forest economy

Hyderabad: Indian School of Business (ISB) and the department of Mission Shakti, government of Odisha, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 3 December to enable women's economic empowerment and rural prosperity through a robust forest economy.

The MoU was signed by Prof. Ashwini Chhatre, executive director of Bharti Institute of Public Policy (BIPP), Indian School of Business, and Sujatha Karthikeyan, commissioner-cum-secretary of Mission Shakti. The signed copies of the MoU were exchanged in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the "Make in Odisha Conclave" in Bhubaneswar.

This MoU marks a significant step towards Mission Shakti's vision of making Odisha a land of equal opportunities where women are empowered to live with dignity and economic prosperity. Mission Shakti aims to empower women through promotion of women self-help groups (WSHGs) to take up various socio-economic activities which were launched in Odisha.

Under this three-year MoU, ISB and Mission Shakti will collaborate to build a prosperous and sustainable forest economy in Odisha through women-led community enterprises, starting with the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Mayurbhanj, and Kendujhar.

Speaking on the collaboration with Mission Shakti, Prof. Ashwini Chhatre said, "The forest economy, anchored in secure tenure, and built on women-centric community-owned enterprises, is a triple-win model with the potential to transform the lives of nearly 2 million women in the six districts, benefitting industry with secure, visible, traceable, and sustainable sources of supply and, ensuring sustainable management of forest landscapes. It is a win for the people, profits, and the planet."

The MoU will strengthen Mission Shakti's ongoing efforts at women's empowerment through ISB's business expertise and experience. Mission Shakti will facilitate the mobilization of the women self-help groups (WSHGs) and implementation of Community Forest Resource Rights across the six districts, acting as the nodal department within the government of Odisha in enabling this model in the state.