A two day training was given to the railway facility management service providers to improve the quality of the service they provide at Railway Stations. It is planned to improve the quality of the service, same as to that of the service provided at Kochi Metro Rail Limited. Presently Kudumbashree manages the parking of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Thrissur Railway stations and the AC rest rooms at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam and Thrissur railway stations. 230 Kudumbashree women are working in this sector. It was decided to give a training to the service providers after the discussion between Kudumbashree officials and railway authorities.

Kudumbashree women has been providing services in various sectors in Kochi Metro, the first all women run metro in the world. Till then, Kudumbashree women were considered only mediocre who were confined to the sectors like waste management, micro enterprises, exhibitions etc. Kudumbashree women had made a revolution in this regard by working with Kochi Metro. They are employed in Kochi Metro Rail Limited on different jobs like ticketing, house keeping, parking, gardening and customer care. The training programme was organised by Kudumbashree Metro Facility Management Centre which co-ordinates these jobs.

The training has been given by dividing them into 2 zones. The training for those from Ernakulam , Kottayam and Thrissur Districts was conducted from 30 October to 2 November 2017. Training for those from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam , Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha will be given from 8-11 November 2017.

Kudumbashree women has been associating with Railway as service providers of facility management for the last 2 years. The training will be framed so as to improve their personal as well as their professional skills. The training will equip them to identify the needs of the customers and act according to. Training will also be given to improve their communication skills.

National Level Conference organised by Kudumbashree Mission associating with Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) programme of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Ministry of Shipping (MoS) to discuss the modalities for the Implementation of Sagarmala-DDUGKY Convergence project was held at Hotel Marriott, Kochi on 2 November 2017. The project aims at skilling the coastal communities for wage employment in port and maritime sector. Sagarmala Programme is implemented by DDUGKY, the centrally designed programme which gives skill training to the rural youth of the country. Kudumbashree is the nodal agency of DDUGKY in Kerala.

Sagarmala was the programme framed by Ministry of Shipping (MoS) for giving skill development training when job opportunities arises in various states due to the development of ports. Port development will give rise to new job opportunities. Sagarmala skill training programme aims at utilising the coastal youth for such job opportunities with a monthly remuneration. MoRD has been successfully implementing DDUGKY programme in various states and the MoU for conducting Sagarmala training along with DDUGKY programme was signed in May 2017.

The programme will be executed in Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts as part of the pilot study. Kerala submitted the action plan for giving training on the sectors like crane operation, electric arc welding, lifeguards fish and seafood processing, deep sea fishing etc for around 8000 job aspirants.

Mr S. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission, welcomed the gathering. Mrs Alka Upadhyaya IAS, JS( Rural Skills), MoRD delivered the keynote address. Mr. Sharda Prasad, Advisor, Sagarmala, spoke on the concept of Sagarmala project and scope of skilling. Mr Anil subramanian, Director, MoRD made a presentation on Skill Gap Survey at Sagarmala project. Mr M. Balasubramaniam, Chief Operating Officer. DDUGKY, MoRD, representatives from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal,Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra & Andaman took part in the programme, Representatives from Ministry of Shipping, Cochin Port Trust, Central Institute of Fisheries and Technology, Cochin Shipyard, National Institute of Fisheries Post Harvest Technology and Training, Telenova Escorts and Nabcons also participated in the programme. Dr Praveen C.S, Chief Operating Officer (Skills) SMMU, Kerala extended vote of thanks.

The women from the Kudumbashree Attappady tribal special project including the leaders of Ooru samithy, Panchayat samithy, Block samithy, Community Resource persons and Animators visited the Janagoan and Warangal District of Telangana state to learn about the women federations and its activities under National Rural livelihood Mission from 26 - 30 October 2017 . The team visited the District, Mandal and Village level federations and took keen interest in the various initiatives of the women federations of Telangana. The vision and the clarity of each members of the executive committee inspired the tribal women from Attappady.

The community based institution structure includes Self Help Groups, Village Organisations, Mandal Federation and District federation. The executive committee of each institution is managing different programmes under the institutions. Livelihoods are promoted by the organizations with the support of Community Investment Fund and now they are focusing on group initiatives. Federation of Persons with Disabilities is their yet another innovative initiative. One community care centre for the PWD is running for the care and protection of the persons who are suffering from various disabilities, managed by the village organisation which consists of doctors, counselors and mentors who provide expert guidance and treatment to the disabled people. The rights and entitlements of the persons are ensured and livelihood opportunities are offered to the family members of PWD.

The team made their visit to Model Villages as well, i.e., to the Pochannapet village of Bachanapet block, which is a completely digitalised village. CCTV camera, card reader for every transaction of villagers (cash less transaction) and digitalised system for purified drinking water (ATW) is the peculiar feature of the village. They are ensuring the basic needs of the families. The villages are 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) and in every house have ground water regeneration pits. Gangadevipalli of Warangal District is another model village. The decentralization strategy of panchayat is amazing that they have 27 committees in different sectors having members from 12 to 17 which constitute 80% of the population. The planning and implementation of the projects are through these committees. All the members are involved in the decision making process.

The team visited the training institute, different livelihood activities of individual as well as groups and the women shared their experiences with each other and it became a memorable learning experience for the tribal women of Attappady and came back with a firm resolve to build better and sustainable community based institutions.

Sagarmala-DDUGKY Convergence Project is a collaborative effort by Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), which aims at skilling the coastal communities for wage employment in port and maritime sector. Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has assigned Kudumbashree Mission as the Nodal agency for the implementation of Sagarmala Project in Kerala. The process of implementation of Sagarmala DDUGKY Convergence Project Phase II has already been initiated by the Ministry. In this context, a meeting to discuss the modalities for the Implementation of Sagarmala-DDUGKY Convergence Project Phase is scheduled to be held at Hotel Marriott, Kochi at 9.30 AM on 2 November 2017.

Kudumbashree will lead the women empowerment activities aiming at the financial stability of the women of Lakshadweep, the union territory under Government of India. Agriculture Department of Lakshadweep had contacted Kudumbashree Mission for giving advices for starting micro enterprises focusing on value added products from coconut, which is available in plenty at Lakshadweep.

As a start, micro enterprise units will be started in Kavarati. For this, 135 women groups comprising of 8 women each had already been started. Kudumbashree will give training to the women of Lakshadweep on Micro Enterprise formation, its successful co-ordination and various other topics. It had already been proved by Kudumbashree that, women groups can start Micro Enterprises and can attain financial stability out of that.

As per the present statistics, there are about 31,000 Micro Enterprises working under Kudumbashree. Out of this, 200 units focus on value added products from coconut. Through these Micro Enterprises, coconut oil, virgin coconut oil, handicrafts made of coconut shells, etc are made. The Kudumbashree NRO which works with the mission of propagating Kudumbashree model to places outside Kerala has been working in Lakshadweep for a few months.The NRO activities of Kudumbashree has been started in Lakshadweep during last May. Kudumbashree is executing special programme there. And apart from this, now Kudumbashree received invitation from the Agriculture Department of Lakshadweep.

Kudumbashree will give skill training to 15,000 urban youth through the centrally sponsored programme National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM). Kudumbashree is the nodal agency of NULM in Kerala. The programme started in last financial year had given work order to 22 new programme implementing agencies. Therefore through 45 agencies, skill training will be given to 15000 youth of 93 urban areas in Kerala. The assistance of the agencies will be assured for for finding jobs or starting new enterprises of their own.Loan of Rs 2 lakh & Rs 10 lakh will be provided to individuals and group of young entrepreneurs respectively at a rate of 4%.

NULM had been given training to people those who have completed eighth standard upto graduation level. The courses are of 3 to 8 and half months duration which are approved by National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or National Skill Development Corporation (NCDC). Food and Accomodation will be provided absolutely free. If the courses suiting one's aptitude is not available at their own region, residential training will be arranged in other urban areas. On contacting the Nearby NULM units, one may easily get the details of the programme.

Training is given on various courses like Health,Information Technology, Telecom, Automotive, Tourism, Food processing, Accounting, electronics, Ayurveda etc are given as part of the training programme. Training is also given on various 74 courses like analyst, security operation centre, general duty assistant, account assistant using tally, CNC operator, data entry operator, mobile handset repair engineer, filed engineer- electronics, Accountant, logistics management associate, field technician networking and storage, animator, automotive service technician, multi cuisine cook, application security analyst, electrician, dental ceramic assistant, CCTV installation technician, surveyor, junior software developer, application developer, ayurveda spa therapist, fashion designer, cad designer, diet assistant etc.

45 different organisations like Kerala Institute of co-operative Management, NTTF, Model engineering College, Thrikkakkara, Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel studies (KITTS) , National Skill Development, Central institute of Plastic Technology etc will associate with Kudumbashree for the programme.

The project for issuing Houses for those who have atleast one cent of land gets state wide approval in 34 urban local bodies. Therefore everyone who own plots in urban local bodies will get houses of their own. The programme is implemented by PMAY(U) - Pradhan Manthri Awas Yojana (Urban) Programme under Central- State Ministries working with the mission of achieving 'Housing for All'. The suggestion regarding this was put forward by the State Level Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee chaired by Dr K. M. Abraham, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala. The same has been already put forward by the State Level Advisory Committee presided by Shri T.K Jose IAS, Principal Secretary, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala. The 34 ULBs identified the homeless in their places who had atleast one cent of land and proposed projects for them and secured approval for the same. Approval for building 21,199 houses has been issued. Therefore approval has been secured for building a total of 58,117 houses in the state. Kudumbashree is the nodal agency of PMAY in Kerala.

Anthoor, Chalakkudy, Chavakkad, Chengannur, Cherpulassery, Chittor- Thathamangalam, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, Guruvayoor, Irinjalakuda, Kalamassery, Karunagappally, Kattapana, Kodungaloor, Koothuparamb, Kothamangalam, Kottarakkara, Mavelikkara, Moovattupuzha, Ottpalam, Pala, Panoor, Parappanangadi, Pattambi, Perumbavoor, Punalur, Shornur, South paravur, Thalassery, Thiruvalla, Thodupuzha, Vaikom, Valanchery and Varkala are the urban local bodies who submitted the plans and secured state wide approval for the same. It has been suggested to submit a detailed list of the homeless in 93 urban local bodies will be submitted before 9 November 2017. When 13,000 houses in these ULBs get approval, houses will be issued for those who have atleast one cent of land. The land less people in the urban areas had also been identified. By the next financial year, houses will be allotted to them as well. Therefore, no one would be left in Urban areas as homeless.

The programme allows 3 lakh rupees for building Houses. One and half lakh rupees will be met from the Central Government fund. The rest will be met from the State Government and Local bodies fund. The construction of 229 houses had been finished so far. Construction of 12,168 houses has been progressing. The programme is framed, including the factors such as Colony development, credit linked subsidy, affordable housing scheme and personal Construction.As per this years programme, 30,000 houses will be finished. Kudumbashree aims to get approval for all plans for building houses this year itself. Therefore Houses for all who owns atleast one cent of land would be a reality then.

Identity Card distribution for all eligible street vendors in the urban areas is progressing in the state. The distribution is being executed as per the results of the survey conducted by NULM in the state through Kudumbashree. It is planned to complete the identity card distribution by 31 October 2017.

In the survey conducted by Kudumbashree in 93 Urban Local Bodies in the state, 19863 street vendors were identified out of which 16896 are men, 2966 are women and one is a transgender. ID cards will be distributed to all of them. Till now, ID cards have been distributed 1924 street vendors of 11 Urban Local bodies. Aadhar Number, Phone Number, details of the things they sell, the street where they sell etc will be notified in the ID card.

The welfare programme for the street vendors envisages to improve the infrastructure and therby to improve the lifestyle.Training programmes for improving the life skills of street vendors will also be included in the programme.

Kudumbashree shines at Bharat Parv, event organised by Ministry of Tourism at Rajpath Lawns, near India Gate, New Delhi from 23 -25 October 2017. The event was inaugurated by Shri. Rajanath Singh, Minister of Home Affairs, Government of India. Shri. Alphonse Kannamthanam, Minister of Tourism, Government of India presided over the function.The event celebrated the rich cultural, ethnic, cuisine diversity of India and to exhibit India's richness of cultural diversity before world and thereby promoting the tourism prospects of India.

Paryatan Parv, an all India tourism promotion event was organised by the Ministry of Tourism from 3-25 October 2017. Bhaarat Parv was organised as part of Paryatan Parv. Traditional Art forms, cultural dances, ethnic handicrafts and cuisines was staged at this three day event.

Along the with traditional art forms and handicrafts, Kerala's ethnic range of cuisines were presented by the Cafe Kudumbashree units promoted by Kudumbashree Mission before the global and national gathering that visited the event place. Two Cafe units, each from Alappuzha and Kozhikode, exhibited the wide range of ethnic tastes particularly belonging to central Travancore and Malabar respectively. Cafe Kudumbashree food court got wide appreciation and very good responses from the masses gathered to view the celebration of India's culture. The food stalls of Kerala attracted the crowds for the entire duration of event.

The closing ceremony of Parytan Parv and Bhaarat Parv was inaugurated by Shri. Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, Government of India on which Shri. Alphonse Kannamthanam, Minister of Tourism, Government of India was the Chief Guest.

State Resource Centre for Women organises Gender Sensitization Workshop for Kudumbashree Officials of State-District Missions. As a start, a two day Workshop was conducted including 50 officials at Hotel Mariarani, Sreekaryam, Thiruvananthapuram on 23 October 2017. The workshop was inaugurated by Vidhu Vincent, Film Director. Harikishore IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission presided over the function.

Within March 2018, Gender Sensitization Workshop will be conducted for all officials of Kudumbashree Mission.

The workshop envisions to give clear awareness about gender equality to the officials of Kudumbashree. Through such training programmes, work place relationship between men and women could be improved and thereby could create a better work atmosphere.

During the time of organising programmes for NHG women, this awareness would undoubtedly help them. And thereby the awareness about gender equality can therefore be communicated to the NHG level.

Classes were given on the topics such as Personality structure of men and women, attitude towards women's development, Gender analysis-An introduction, stages of women empowerment, Gender- planning and observations, violences against women, the ways to resist such violences, the sexual discrimination women face in today's society, gender inequality, the social constraints that resists from attaining gender equality and the activities to overcome such issues.Mary Kappan and trainer Roshan Chandran led the classes.

'Manhole' directed by Vidhu Vincent was screened during the programme.