TN tribal women become taxpayers after generating Rs 1.98 crore through SHG

COIMBATORE: A group of tribal women in Thanikandi village in Coimbatore district have become taxpayers after generating an overall turnover of Rs 1.98 crore in the last seven years. Their journey began with an initial working capital of Rs 2,200, forming a self-help group (SHG) that has gained attention and appreciation of Union minister of tribal affairs Jual Oram.In 2018, a group of eleven women in Thanikandi village near Booluvampatti registered an SHG to start a small business in the locality. Each of them invested Rs 200 to start a petty tea stall and a tiffin stall. The shops were established with the support of the Isha Foundation, where they were provided fundamental education on business tactics, savings, banking, profit and loss and other business nuances. It is noteworthy that despite their lack of education, they have shown progress in expanding their business. All these tribal women, who were least connected to urban growth, previously did seasonal jobs like honey harvesting and agriculture for livelihood.According to Isha's tribal welfare team coordinator Chidakasha, the women have helped form nearly eight more SHGs in neighbouring villages and extended support to establish similar businesses like selling bakery items. "Initially, with a collective investment of Rs 2,200, they bought groceries and managed the rest with whatever was available at home, including a kerosene stove. They struggled to pay the initial investment. However, over the years, the situation has drastically changed, and they are now willing to apply for loans and expand their business,” Chidakasha said.He said the annual turnover was Rs 25 lakh in 2018. It reached up to Rs 49 lakh in the financial year 2024-25, making them fall under the eligible taxpayers. “Though the tax amount is a meagre Rs 400, it is a great leap towards their empowerment. In the current financial year, if their turnover increases further, they will also get registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)," he said. Gayathri P, a member of the SHG who runs a bakery, said, "This helped us improve the standards. The important thing is that we were the first from the village to fly to Chennai four years ago and later took a couple of other villagers along with us to Bengaluru two years ago. All the expenditure was through the profit gained and savings from the business. We run nearly nine tribal shops from our SHG. We have plans for expansion to set up our production unit."