Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Food Processing Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 at Noida Haat today. Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Kailash Choudhary was also present on the occasion.Addressing the gathering Shri Tomar said that the Ministry of Rural Development is working to include more women in Self Help Groups (SHGs). He said these SHGs played a vital role in increasing family income and improving quality of life.Speaking about PM's call for self-reliant India, Shri Tomar said Atmanirbharta can't be achieved only by Government's schemes and efforts. People's participation is a must and SHGs can play a major role to achieve this goal. He urged the empowered SHGs to come forward and help other SHGs to become Atmanirbhar.Shri Kailash Choudhary appreciated the efforts of SHGs during COVID times for employing rural women. He said our SHGs have the potential to produce export quality material and with the help of these SHGs, the country can achieve the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat.Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development advised the SHGs and craftsmen to understand consumer's demand to improve the products. He said the Ministry will give publicity to the Mela through advertisement and SMS marketing so that all participants will get a chance to showcase their products to a large number of audience.The Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 is being organized from 26th February to 14th March 2021 by the Ministry of Rural Development. More than 300 rural self-help groups and craftsman from 27 states are participating in the Mela. Around 150 stalls and 15 food stalls serving regional cuisines have been set up and more than 60 cultural performances will be performed. During the Mela, workshops on product packaging and design, communication skills, social media publicity and Business 2 Business marketing will be organised to educate the rural self-help groups and craftsman. The Mela will remain open from 11 AM to 8 PM daily.Dr G. Narendra Kumar, DG, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Smt. Alka Upadhyay, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri Charanjit Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development were also present on the occasion.