Excelsior Correspondent
LUCKNOW, Mar 23: Our country at present is grappling with the problem of unemployment and the government has launched many schemes for self-employment to control the joblessness and such schemes have yielded many encouraging results also.
In this regard, the success story of Anjali Singh, 50, an MBA, who started a unit ‘Jute for Life’ for making jute bag, some 15 years back, has become a source of motivation for many others and presently Anjali, popular as ‘Anjali Jute Wali’ has provided employment to some 250 women in her unit.
Sources informed that there is a big role of Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) behind the success story of Anjali Singh, who started her business in 2010 with just a single machine and a single woman at the quiet villages of Bhulbhulpur-Rassolpur Sadaat on the outskirts of Lucknow but today her unit has evolved into a thriving industrial cluster, symbolising the impact of government-led development initiatives.
Anjali told the Excelsior that she started her venture with just Rs. 10,000 and now her turnover is going to touch 2.5 crore mark.
“The success story of these 15 years was not without challenges. First of all, there was a challenge of non-availability of raw materials locally and we get the same from Kolkata and other places,” she maintained adding that as most of her workers are women, who have many issues at family and society level, which further affected her business.
She further said that finance remained another big problem which her unit faced.
Anjali informed that from government side she got a loan of Rs. 13 lakh under PMRY to start the work and after this they got a financial assistance of around Rs. 4.47 crore in 2021 under the SFURTI scheme, enabling the creation of modern infrastructure and advanced production facilities.
Sources informed that institutions like Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and National Jute Board also play a crucial role in providing technical support, training and market linkages, helping integrate traditional craftsmanship with modern business practices and these institutions helped Anjali too.
“SFURTI under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), helped me touch the skies,” claimed Anjali, recalling how the scheme transformed her modest beginning into a large-scale enterprise.
Today, unit run by Anjali boasts a network of nearly 740 machines and supports hundreds of women artisans, many of whom come from rural backgrounds. The facility offers state-of-the-art infrastructure for stitching, processing and designing a wide range of jute products.
“Apart from the jute bags and home décor items, we also make innovative jute jewellery, the product line has expanded significantly, catering to evolving market demands,” Anjali continued.
She also informed that out of the 539 clusters the one she runs is at number one and she has been selected to meet PM Modi.
Anjali further said that her future planning is to expand her brand ‘Jute for Life’ to the international market.
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