As India moves towards making its cities more citizen friendly and sustainable, under its Smart Cities Mission, its rural counterparts are bracing for challenges of a different kind. In 2015, the government put forth the Smart Villages plan of converting a cluster of 300 villages into smart villages. But the issues faced in villages are very different from the urban stress points. Quality of life, education, healthcare, environment and employment are the most prominent challenges in the rural belt. The sleepy village of Mori has emerged as Andhra Pradesh's first smart village. Even as elsewhere people struggle with digital payments, Mori has a digital panchayat. Under the smart village initiative, focus has been on the underprivileged women to ensure that they are provided with resources to become self-reliant. It is here that partnerships with ventures like the Usha Silai School have helped. Today not just women but also some men have benefitted from the Silai school programme and instead of looking for livelihood outside the village or state, have created better job opportunities not just for themselves but also others in the community.
Odisha'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
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
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
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
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
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.