Rashtriya Mahila Kosh no longer relevant, government closing it: Smriti Irani

The government Thursday said it has decided to close down the credit facilitating agency Rashtriya Mahila Kosh as it has lost relevance with alternative credit facilities becoming available to women through various government initiatives.

Established in 1993, the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) is a national-level organisation aimed at facilitating socio-economic empowerment of women.

In a written response to a question, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani told Rajya Sabha, "The decision to close down RMK has been taken as it has lost its relevance and utility in the present scenario with substantial alternative credit facilities becoming available to women through various governmental initiatives and efforts such as Jan Dhan Yojana, PM Mudra Yojana etc and also to avoid duplicacy of efforts."