Saras Food Festival, 2022:
Saras Food Festival, 2022 has been organized in New Delhi to promote ethnic and home-made handicrafts, paintings, toys, etc., prepared by women of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
- Saras Food Festival is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Rural Development as an effort to empower women on a large scale.
- Women from self-help groups, formed under the flagship program ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ of the Union Ministry of Rural Development are participating in this festival.
- This event will give women SHGs an opportunity to showcase their skills in the field of food making and introduce people to the food culture of our country.
- These SHG women are proficient in making rural products and preparing traditional dishes of their states.
- The Ministry also launched the e-commerce portal for better and more effective marketing of Saras products prepared by women of self-help groups.
- There are about 8 crore 62 lakh women who are members of SHGs and they have presence in 97% of Blocks, while 85 % of them are directly connected with the network of the Ministry.
- Efforts are on to have at least 25% of all sales by women self-help groups through e-commerce portals annually.
- The Ministry will take steps to establish Saras stalls by women SHGs in all State capitals, major cities and metros, airports and railway stations for widening the reach of marketing.