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Coal To Canvas: PSU Partnerships Stitch Odisha's Tribal Dreams
Team NDTV | Updated: January 21, 2026 18:10 IST
New Delhi:
Amid Jharsuguda's coal dust, Rambati Saura's fingers dance across the Usha pedal, birthing uniforms from scraps. Once bound by housework in tribal Lamptibahal, the Swablambi programme—Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), Gram Utthan, and Usha Silai School—ignited her path, boosting orders and income post-25-day training. Now mentoring low-literacy girls, she funds her children's future, embodying Kushalta Ke Kadam's ripple effect across 100 schools.
Village Visions in Jalgaon
In Maharashtra's Pachora, Madhuri Sonawane balances childcare and stitches at Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan's (BNGVN) hub. Padma Shri Neelima Mishra's vision, fused with Usha's expertise, trains rural women for home-based garment units, earning ₹5,000-10,000 amid scarce jobs. Ratna Patil, sole breadwinner for her disabled husband, refines skills from farm distractions to professional precision.
Urban Threads in Mumbai
Mumbai's Sir Ratan Tata Institute (SRTI) hums as HM, a novice, envisions custom designs. This 1928 legacy, now with Usha's 25-day course, trains 15 vulnerable women from slums in baby clothes and sarees, blending employability with low-investment home ventures. Rutuja Suryawanshi scales her post-graduation passion into a brand, confidence soaring.
Skill Synergy in Haryana
Palwal's Shri Vishwakarma Skill University (SVSU) pulses with 7-day intensives under Guru Shishya Kaushal Samman Yojana. Prof. Dinesh Kumar's Centre of Excellence equips 30 rural women with industry-grade machines for seat covers and jobs, backed by alumni handholding and certifications. Prof. Jyoti Rana ensures self-sustainability, from enterprises to economic contributions.
Partnerships Woven Strong
Kushalta Ke Kadam with NDTV spotlights these synergies: MCL's CSR funds 15,000-16,000 women; BNGVN scales to industrial links; SRTI fosters resilience; SVSU bridges academia-industry. Tribal voices like Geeta Tanti expand shops, proving PSUs amplify Usha's model nationwide. Visit ushasilaischool.com to adopt and extend the thread.
Published: January 21, 2026 18:05 IST
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Written by Team NDTVUSHA x NDTV: From Uttar Pradesh To Bihar, Corporate Partnerships Drive Financial Freedom For Rural Women
Team NDTV
Team NDTV | Wednesday January 21, 2026In 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.
- Team NDTV | Friday December 26, 2025
A new wave of corporate-community partnerships is equipping rural women with skills, income and confidence
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.
Kushalta ke Kadam: Aiming for Independence Through Stitching
Rebari girls grow up learning traditional embroidery, which along with their new found sewing skills developed at Usha Silai Schools, is helping them earn a living.
Usha Silai School has empowered many rural women to support their family and send their children to school.
The Usha Silai School, established in a small nondescript village that goes by the name of Kottai, is helping empower people from varied communities.
The all-inclusive Usha Silai School Programme covers the entire nation from hamlets tucked between hills to villages cast by the sea.
Vegetables farmers from the Mizoram hills earn very little given the topography of the area. Usha Silai Schools have played an important part in this region by skilling women to financially contribute towards their households.
Usha Silai School learner Lucy has trained seven other women in her community, helping them to become financially independent.
Women like Kaviben from the nomadic Rebari community are finally laying down their roots as they begin to gain financial independence and thereby stability through Usha Silai School.
Usha Silai School, located in the Gujarat's Bhuj village, is enabling rural women to earn as much as Rs. 2,500-4,000 each month.
Usha Silai School, in association with a Gujarat based NGO called Kala Raksha, is trying to bring about a Silai revolution in Bhuj.
Besides training other women from their community, many Usha Silai School learners have become entrepreneurs in their own right.
With sewing becoming easily accessible and lucrative, the silai schools are also helping revive traditional motifs and designs.