United for Impact: CSR Alliances Empowering Rural Women
Discover how Usha Silai School partners with visionary companies to uplift lives across rural India - from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to West Bengal. These dynamic CSR collaborations provide practical training in sewing, stitching, and entrepreneurship, fostering economic independence for women, redefining family dynamics, and creating resilient communities with sustainable, real-world change
Ahinsa Bharti's summer camp in her village has ignited creativity in 13 adolescent girls, teaching stitching basics and building confidence. Participants like Anshika Bharti dream of launching their own fashion brands, while Kanchan shares how the program steadied her hands and empowered her to stand tall-echoing the intergenerational legacy of Tata Power and Usha's collaboration.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Usha Silai School-Tata Power partnership, launched in 2022, has empowered 756 women like Ahinsa Bharti through 20-day stitching and Chikankari training. Now running her home-based Silai center, Ahinsa earns ?7,000-?8,000 monthly, supporting her family and training 10 women at a time-proving one machine can spark a ripple of independence.
In Bihar's heartland, Magadh Sugar & Energy Ltd. partnered with Usha Silai School to train 25 women from surrounding villages in a 15-day program on sewing and tailoring. Graduates like Anju Kumari and Heena Devi now plan to open their own Silai Schools, teaching others and turning skills into sustainable livelihoods right from their homes.
Magadh Sugar's initiative equips women with machines, manuals, and co-branded certificates, fostering entrepreneurship. Trainees Roshan Tara Khatun and Nita Kumari, once limited to basic home stitching, now master shirts, gowns, and bags-vowing to expand their work, earn independently, and uplift their villages through this trusted K.K. Birla Group-Usha alliance.
In West Bengal's Durgapur, Neo Metaliks Ltd. and Usha International identified 75 women for 100 days of intensive Silai training, birthing micro-enterprises in tailoring. Learners like Sujata Pandey transformed from housewives to confident connectors, gaining life skills in navigation, communication, and pride-extending Neo's industrial strength into community resilience.
Neha Khaitan's journey with Neo Metaliks-Usha reflects bold evolution: from hesitation to teaching tuition and dreaming of a shop that inspires other housewives. As Ravi Agarwal notes, upgrading skills in deprived areas creates better lives-highlighting how these value-aligned CSR partnerships don't just train women; they forge leaders who redefine their communities.
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.
Written by Team NDTV | Friday December 12, 2025USHAs Silai School Programme empowers women across India by turning sewing into independence. Women become trainers and leaders, transforming their lives and communities through skills, confidence, and income
- Written by Team NDTV | Thursday December 11, 2025
USHA Silai School is empowering women across India by turning sewing skills into leadership and income. Women like Lalita, Yashira, and Pushpakala have become mentors, reviving traditions and building stronger communities. Their stories show how one skill can weave a brighter future.
- Written by Team NDTV | Wednesday December 10, 2025
From homemaker to celebrated teacher, Lakhi Debnath transformed her life via Usha Silai School, funding her daughters' education and buying land through tailoring
- Written by Team NDTV | Tuesday December 09, 2025
In Takkar Birpur village, Jammu and Kashmir, Kanta Devi escaped domestic violence and poverty through the Usha Silai School's tailoring training. Earning ₹10,00020,000 monthly, she now teaches women in border areas while inspiring her daughter Tanya to dream of a bourtique
- Written by Team NDTV | Thursday December 11, 2025
The USHA Silai School Program empowers women across India by teaching sewing skills, enabling them to earn an income, achieve financial independence, and build better futures for themselves and their families.
- Team NDTV | Saturday March 22, 2025
The USHA Silai School Program empowers women across India with sewing skills, transforming them into trainers and fostering community growth and independence
