9th March 2022: On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Usha International ltd, one of India’s leading household consumer durables company, announced its strategic partnership with Government of India’s Government e-Marketplace (GeM), an online platform, for two years through its Silai School program. Via this partnership, Usha will support the setting up of a new vertical – sewing as a service – on the GeM portal which will open newer opportunities for forward integration for hundreds of Usha Silai Women and enhance their livelihood. With the Government mandating that at least 3% of the Rs 15000 crores worth sewing orders placed by government department/agencies annually, be taken up by regional rural women groups, this is a big step forward and will enhance the earning potential of the Usha Silai School women.
Launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, with the objective to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers, the GeM is an online platform for public procurement in India. Purchases through GeM by Government users has been authorized and made mandatory by the Ministry of Finance. Usha’s strategic partnership with GeM will aid the Usha Silai School’s structure to provide expertise for the service and will help in placement of sewing orders with women at the regional level.
Under this partnership GeM will be facilitating the process for enlisting of Usha Silai School women on the GeM portal for fulfillment of various orders, as a part of market linkage. Usha will provide technical experts who will share their knowledge on sewing for setting up the sewing vertical. GeM officials will hold sessions on the enrollment process for Usha Silai School women and facilitate their on-boarding. USS will short-list women who already have a good competency level in sewing and are capable of taking these orders. If required, the Silai School women would be given additional inputs for meeting the order requirements. The Silai School women will be oriented by both GeM officials as well USS members on the process. The collaboration will be across various aspects that will aid not just the Usha Silai School women but everyone who is on the GeM portal, this will include skill building, advocacy and outreach, capacity building, and value-added services.
Commenting on the association, Mary Rupa Tete, Vice President, Usha International, said, “This is a huge step forward and is a natural progression of the Usha Silai School initiative, which we have been building for over a decade now. To partner with the government to help skill women and that too on a special day like this grow, makes me optimistic that this initiative will help thousands across the country acquire a skill that will help them in their entrepreneurial journey. To get the buy-in from the government in our mission of skilling women to empower them further, is very exciting, seeing as it is the fruition of all the hard work.”
