Strengthening Communities: The Impact of USHA Silai Schools
Sanjay and Shruti have empowered women at the USHA Silai School, enhancing their skills and confidence. Sana Aftab's fundraising campaign aids marginalized women in Bandra and Andheri. Collaborating with Pratham, they teach sewing skills for economic independence, aiming to help 10 women start sustainable businesses. Since 2021, Neeraj and Amita Kapoor's centers have trained 68 women, generating over ?22 lakhs. Ismail Khatri's donation of 4,500 meters of fabric enables these women to create products for sale. Together, these efforts are transforming lives and strengthening communities.
Driven by her passion for societal change, Sana Aftab spearheaded a fundraising campaign aimed at economically empowering marginalized women living in slum areas around Bandra and Andheri. Her initiative, in collaboration with the Pratham Mumbai Education Initiative and the USHA Silai School, seeks to equip these women with essential sewing skills and tools for self-reliance.
Do you want to be a part of the huge change that Usha Silai School is bringing about in the lives of millions of rural women? With just a simple click of a button, you can now contribute towards the opening of an Usha Silai School or support various other aspects of the school.
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by USHA Silai School and NDTV has entered its eighth season. The aim is to empower more women across rural India by teaching them sewing skills and helping them open new doors of opportunities for themselves. The initiative encourages rural women to become financially independent and entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities.
Since 2011, the USHA Silai School initiative has trained more than 12 lakh rural women through over 33,000 Silai schools, spanning over 20,751 villages across India.
The women earn Rs. 4,000 – 5,000 per month on an average, with the highest recorded monthly earning being Rs. 84,000 in a month. This earning works as a catalyst towards building their self-confidence, reducing gender inequities, and raising their stature within their families and in society at large.
Team NDTV | Monday February 16, 2026Odisha's Suchismita Sahu, Rajasthan's Preeti Prajapat, Manipur's Akhirun—Usha Silai School's Kushalta Ke Kadam celebrates these awardees, from homemakers to master trainers earning accolades
- Team NDTV | Thursday February 12, 2026
From Ladakh peaks to Assam fringes, Usha Silai School trains tribal women in Turtuk, Kargil & Dakhinkuchi—crafting livelihoods with armed forces, NHPC & NGOs. Stitching national resilience
- Team NDTV | Thursday January 29, 2026
From West Bengal's transgender tailors to Telangana's tribal seamstresses and Meghalaya's embroidery revivalists, Usha Silai School's Kushalta Ke Kadam partners with NIRDPR and state governments
- Team NDTV | Tuesday February 03, 2026
In Odisha's mining heartlands, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited teams with Usha Silai School's Kushalta Ke Kadam and Gram Utthan, empowering tribal women turning them into entrepreneurs
- Team NDTV | Wednesday January 07, 2026
From Madhya Pradesh's stigma to Bihar's child marriages, Usha Silai School's NDTV-backed Kushalta Ke Kadam empowers women like Kalpana and Shabnam to stitch dignity and self-reliance
- Written by Team NDTV | Friday January 02, 2026
Usha Silai Schools give second chances to women like Srinagar's Marifat, who rebuilt after widowhood; Madhya Pradesh's Jyoti, escaping abuse to run her own center; and Rajasthan's Vimla, rising from child marriage to tailor and teacher. Through nine-day training, they gain sewing skills, confidence, and income proving one stitch mends lives and inspires communities.
