Under its Silai School initiative, USHA International Limited has been working towards empowering women from rural India and encouraging them to become entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities. In order to widen its efforts further, USHA has partnered with Public Sector Undertakings like Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) in Jharkhand and National Building Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) in Odisha.

In the current season of Kushal Ke Kadam, USHA Silai School has collaborated with educational institutions like the University of Kashmir and Punjab University to help girls and women fulfil their dreams through skill development. The aim of the partnership is to equip girls and women with various techniques of stitching. Through this initiative, women are not only taking charge of their destiny but are also helping others become financially independent.

As USHA Silai School programme continues to create new opportunities for women in rural areas through skill development, it collaborated with autonomous government bodies like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Rajasthan and Punjab and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in Himachal Pradesh. Not only are the collaborations setting up new Silai Schools in these states, but these are also helping women set up sewing based enterprises at the village level.

Since its inception in 2011, USHA Silai School has been empowering women in the rural areas across the county by equipping them with the skill of stitching. This year, USHA International Limited strengthened its partnership with the state governments of Meghalaya and West Bengal with an aim to reach out to thousands of women and help them improve their lives.

The aim of USHA Silai School has always been to empower the vulnerable and provide them with a better source of livelihood. Keeping up with its motive, here is how the initiative has changed the life of 36-year-old Preeti Khushwaha, a resident of Mustafabad village of Bangarmau block in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. After training from the Silai school, not only did Preeti build a better life for herself and her family, but also helped over 1,500 women in and around her village to learn stitching and become financially independent.

With 23,265 USHA Silai Schools present in 12,858 villages across all states and Union Territories in the country, more than 6.7 lakh women have been able to enhance their skills. They have become empowered and financially independent. Here is how the initiative is helping those in need, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of USHA Silai School has always been to empower both men and women and provide them a better source of livelihood. Keeping up with their motive, in Meghalaya, USHA Silai School trained women to make cloth bags, an alternative to single-use plastic bags, which have been banned by the state government. Along with this, USHA partnered with the Blind Relief Association in Delhi to provide sewing training to visually impaired students.

Eight years ago USHA Silai School set on a journey to make women from marginalised communities self-sufficient. Over the years, the program has received support in various forms from people across the country. With the increasing public and private partnership, USHA has only grown and reached to different parts of the country. The partnerships have taken USHA to villages of Uttar Pradesh and Assam.

To enhance the skills of women, USHA has been working with thousands of women across the country. But unlike in other places, the training in the north and northeastern states go beyond stitching. As part of the USHA Silai School Program, the women in these states get mechanical training wherein they learn to repair sewing machines which is usually considered as a man's job. As the women of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Manipur get mechanical training, an additional skill set that is helping them earn additional income by putting their knowledge to use, we bring to you some of the success stories.

In 2012, USHA launched first Silai School in West Bengal, India's fourth-most populous state and by 2017 the program's success caught the attention of the West Bengal Scheduled Caste And Tribe Development Finance Corporation, which led to the life-changing initiative for thousands of women.