Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-01-17

Economic Empowerment of Women through Apparel Based Mini Factories

- The Cabinet has already granted approval to provide training for rural women from the Eastern and the Uva Provinces and from the selected districts prioritizing women of displaced families and those who had become widowers as a result of war in sewing under the 'Programme for Economic Empowerment of Rural Women', anticipated to be implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and subsequently to establish 150 mini apparel factories. Taking into consideration the great demand in respect of this project, the proposal made by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, to expand the number of direct beneficiaries per mini factory from 15 to 20 and to install 5 more additional machines in each factory and to vest the ownership of the sewing machines to the respective cooperative societies that provided the training to the beneficiaries, was approved by the Cabinet.