AVSAR Scheme

AVSAR Scheme- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) has taken an initiative to allocate space to Self Help Groups (SHGs) at its airports for selling/showcasing the self-made products of their region through the “AVSAR” (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans Of The Region) Scheme.
This aims to encourage the talent of women, artisans and craftsmen and provide them with the right opportunities.

The AVSAR Scheme provides an opportunity to help the indigent to mobilize their households into functionally effective self-earned groups for self-reliance and self-dependence.
“AVSAR” (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans Of The Region) Scheme is an initiative of AAI (Airport Authority of India).
Under the AVSAR scheme, an area of 100-200 square feet has been earmarked at each AAI-operated airport.
The space is being allotted to the self-help groups, turn on a turn basis, for a duration of 15 days.
Few outlets have already been commissioned at Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Kushinagar, Udaipur & Amritsar Airport. These SHGs are operated by local women.
- They are showcasing and marketing their homemade local products like Puffed Rice, Packaged Papad, Pickles, Bamboo-based Ladies Bag/Bottle/Lamp Sets, etc. to the air travelers.

About: Self-help Groups are India’s most powerful channels for empowering small and rural communities to move from subsistence to sustainability. The government is constantly creating an atmosphere to strengthen the SHGs.
- Self Help Groups are informal associations of people who come together to find ways to improve their living conditions.
Membership: The SHG members generally have a similar socio-economic background.
Significance:
- They help to build social capital among the poor, especially women.
- Such groups work as a collective guarantee system for members who propose to borrow from organized sources.
- Consequently, Self-Help Groups have emerged as the most effective mechanism for the delivery of microfinance services to the poor.
SHG examples: SEWA in Gujarat, MYRADA in Karnataka, TANWA in Tamil Nadu, Ramkrishna mission in Jharkhand, ADITHI in Bihar.