https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Empowering the Tribal Women of Mandla

IAS officer Harshika Singh’s efforts to make women literate and help them understand basic bank mechanism is successfully empowering many of them in the tribal belt of Mandla, Madhya Pradesh.
Indian Masterminds Stories

It is not very easy to hand-hold a toddler and help him begin his journey on the path of education. Similarly, it is quite difficult to do the same with an elderly person who has spent his or her entire life in the dark world of illiteracy- with virtually no ability to read or write.

To help women grow and enable them to write, IAS officer Harshika Singh, the District Collector of Mandla, is taking out campaigns and projects that are empowering the ladies of the district and making them self-dependent.

In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Ms. Singh talked about her efforts and the results they have produced.

IAS Harshika Singh; District Collector, Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

NIRAKSHARTA SE AZAADI

A 2012-batch officer from Jharkhand cadre, Ms. Singh launched the ‘Niraksharta se azaadi’ (Freedom from Illiteracy) campaign on 15 th August 2020 in her district. Mandla is a tribal district and the main issue that the people residing here face is banking literacy.

There are various funds flowing into their accounts through government schemes, but at times the people are not aware of the amount existing in their accounts, which allows dubious people to cheat them and withdraw money from their accounts.

Educated women of the district teaching the uneducated ones

“We took up this issue in Mandla, and have now reached a stage where these 7000 tribal women, who used to be illiterate, are now able to at least write letters, numbers, and their own name,” Ms. Singh told Indian Masterminds.

Moreover, the district now has around 400-450 women, who were disseminated into modules of banking courses, which the collector arranged with the help of the banking fraternity. By training the women of the district’s self-help groups, she went on to create master trainers who have now reached a stage where they can conduct bank transactions on their own. They can go to banks, pen their accounts, withdraw money, sign on cheques, etc.

Happy women after writing their name for the first time

“We have brought them to that level so they are aware of how much money is in their account, from where the funds are credited, why they are credited, where they are credited, etc,” said Ms. Singh.

GROWING FRATERNITY

Ms. Singh had sensitized around 7000 women from the 400 `gram panchayats’ of Mandla and around 1800 women had volunteered to teach these women. The number is slowly increasing now, and 2000 women have joined to teach the tribal women.

Since Mandla is a tribal district, people there are not aware of how finances should be managed. “There are people here who still believe in the barter system, and not in the concept of banking. They find it extremely technical and try to keep away from it. I had to make these people bank-friendly to ensure their finances are safe,” she told Indian Masterminds.

More people are joining in the campaign

BASANT PANCHAMI SPECIAL

On the occasion of Basant Panchami, this year, Ms. Singh assembled all the women who are learning these basics and provided the ones who had passed level 1 of learning with a ‘pass certificate’.

“We are planning that by the next month, we will bring all the 7000 women to that level, which is the goal and we are working on it,” said Ms. Singh.

Ms. Devi is amongst the women who teaches other women

Moreover, she has planned similar points for women getting banking literacy, wherein she will provide similar pass certificates to ladies who will cross level 1 of bank literacy learning, on March 31 st, 2021.

“We are also trying to institutionalize the entire thing, so we are preparing for course modules and trying to prepare master trainers out of these educated women. We are also planning to make them an essential part of discussions to be held in `gram sabhas’ in the near future.”

Ms. Saraswati learnt to write her name for the first time

Ms. Singh is also coming up with a concept, wherein every month she would provide opportunities to the local women to talk about issues that matter most to them.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
UPSC IAS IPS IFS
UPSC Declares Final Results of Combined Section Officers’ (Grade ‘B’) LDCE 2024, 303 Candidates Selected for CSS
nmdc resized
Steel Industry Relief: NMDC Slashes Iron Ore Prices by Up to Rs600 per Tonne Amid Weak Market Demand
MCL
Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) to Boost Coal Output by 50% by 2035, Backs CIL’s 1-Billion Tonne Target
CEA
Central Electricity Authority (CEA) & IIT Roorkee Forge Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Innovation in Power Sector
5G_
DoT Begins New Spectrum Demand Assessment for Private 5G Networks Through Saral Sanchar Portal
Reserve-Bank-of-India_RBI_resized
2 Years After Withdrawal, Rs 2000 Notes Worth Rs 6,099 Crore Still in Circulation
coal india and hindustan copper
India’s Clean Energy Push: Coal India Signs MoU with Hindustan Copper to Collaborate in Critical Mineral Sector
National-Highways-Authority-of-Indiaa
IAS Vinay Kumar Appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer of NHAI on Additional Charge - Know More
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Inderjit Singh Air India
Is Air India Carrying The Burden of Split Before Privatisation?
Ex IRS C Rajendiran
Ex-IRS Officer C. Rajendiran Illuminates Thirukkural’s Timeless Wisdom in Exclusive Interview
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-25 at 5.07
Why Has the DGCA Fined Air India Rs 5 Crore Since Privatisation?
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
IPS Deepak Meghani
Deepak Meghani, IPS: A Journey of Focus, Failure, and Quiet Discipline
A passionate writer, he has authored several books in Gujarati, ranging from exam strategy guides to...
Sanish Kumar Singh
“If you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way,” Sanish Kumar Singh AIR 8, UPSC IFS 2024 
The real interview, he says, was much more humane. “The board was conversational. The chairman opened...
Raju Wagh
When the Battlefield Became a Study Room and a Dream Took Flight
Amid IED blasts and anti-Maoist operations in Bastar, CRPF Commando Raju Wagh taught village kids, studied...
Social Media
Shailaja Chandra
“Nanis & Dadis Have a Brain”: Former IAS Officer Shailaja Chandra Weighs in on 1970s vs 2025 Life Debate - “This Generation Has It Better”
Responding to Viral Post on Middle-Class Struggles, Ex-Bureaucrat Offers Candid Reflection on Then and...
Tigress Arrowhead
The End of an Era: A Queen Falls - Ranthambore’s Iconic Tigress Arrowhead (T-84) Passes Away at 14, Hours After Daughter’s Relocation
Ranthambore mourns the loss of one of its fiercest and most beloved tigers, Arrowhead, the granddaughter...
Screenshot 2025-06-13 194001
Wild Elephant Disrupts Riverside Picnic, Sparks Debate on Human Encroachment; IFS Parveen Kumar Shares the Video - Watch Here!
Mr. Kaswan used the viral video, which has garnered over 1.5 lakh views, to highlight the risks of human...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
UPSC IAS IPS IFS
UPSC Declares Final Results of Combined Section Officers’ (Grade ‘B’) LDCE 2024, 303 Candidates Selected for CSS
nmdc resized
Steel Industry Relief: NMDC Slashes Iron Ore Prices by Up to Rs600 per Tonne Amid Weak Market Demand
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Inderjit Singh Air India
Ex IRS C Rajendiran
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-25 at 5.07
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT