Formation of West Bengal Swarojgar Corporation Limited

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
Department of Self Help Group & Self Employment
Writers’ Buildings, Kolkata

No. 83-SH/2P/Prs.-15/2009 Kolkata, the 20th February, 2009.

RESOLUTION

The State Government has been considering for some time a proposal to constitute a fully State owned Corporation for assisting the self-help groups to substantially increase the scope of their activities and become viable as an alternative source of employment to their members. The Finance Minister had, in his budget statement for 2008-09, also announced that the State Government is considering setting up such a corporation for various clusters of self-help groups for procurement and distribution of agricultural and other commodities.

2. Now, therefore, the Governor is pleased to decide that a Corporation in the name and style of ‘SWAROJGAR’ (A Corporation for Marketing of Products of the Self Help Groups and the Self Employed and Skill Development) will be set up under the Department of Self Help Group & Self Employment. The Corporation will act as a tool of market intervention in the field of agricultural and allied commodities on commercial basis and will set up its own channel of distribution network throughout the State but particularly in the rural areas through clusters of self-help groups in order to ensure that the commodities procured by them reach the general population in all remote and inaccessible areas of the State at reasonable prices. At the same time the Corporation will promote self-employment potential and coordinate among various such groups working in the field.

3. The main purpose and activities of this Corporation will be the following:

a) To arrange for procurement of agricultural and other commodities through the clusters of self-help groups and to arrange for distribution of such commodities at the retail level in various areas of the State also through clusters of self-help groups;

b) To act as a procurement and distribution tool of the State Government in association with similar State Government Corporations and Undertakings but with emphasis mainly on the self-help groups;

c) To arrange for appropriate training of various self-help groups in different sphere of activities like marketing, financial management, administration, computer networking etc.

d) All other activities allied to the objectives and activities described at Sl. No. 1 to 3 above.

4. The administrative and management structure of the Corporation will be the following:

I) A Board of Directors, headed by Smt. Rekha Goswami, Minister-in-Charge, Department of Self Help Group & Self Employment as CHAIRPERSON.

Other members of the Board of Directors will be the following:

(i) Principal Secretary, Finance Department.

(ii) Principal Secretary, Panchayat & Rural Development Department.

(iii) Principal Secretary, Food & Supplies Department.

(iv) Principal Secretary, Cooperation Department.

(v) Principal Secretary, Department of Self Help Group & Self Employment- He will act as Convener Director of the Board of Directors till appointment of a full time Company Secretary.

vi-viii) Three other Directors to be nominated by the State Government comprising persons of eminence in the field of Micro-Finance, Business-Management and Wholesale and Retail Marketing.

One of them may be nominated by the State Government as Adviser to the Corporation.

II) Shri A.S. Biswas, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Self Help Group & Self -Employment, Government of West Bengal shall be the Managing Director.

III) Four General Managers looking after a) Finance b) Administration & H.R. c) Procurement and Purchase and d) Distribution and Retail market Operations. All the above officials will be recruited through a process of open advertisement and selection.

IV) One Company Secretary to be selected through open advertisement.

V) Other officials not exceeding 30 in number of various designations to be decided by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.

The qualification and experience for the posts mentioned at sl. no. ‘III’ to ‘V’ above and Recruitment Rules for the same will be framed by the Board of Directors of the Corporation subject to approval of the State Government.

5. While in the long term the Corporation will have its branches in all the districts of the State, initially to start with it shall have five branches apart from its corporate offices. The location of the branches will be as decided by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The rules of transaction of business, financial management and internal administration will be as decided by the Board of Directors of the Corporation subject to the approval of the State Government.

6. The Corporation will Be a body corporate to be set up under the Company’s Act, 1956. All necessary steps for incorporation and registration of the Corporation under the Company’s Act, framing of Articles and Memorandum of Association and other statutory approvals as required will be arranged and undertaken by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The Corporation will have an authorized capital of Rs. 100.00 crores and the initial paid up capital will be Rs. 10.00 crores. Since the Corporation will be a fully State Government owned Corporation, the entire authorized and paid up capital will be fully Subscribed by the State Government. But the Corporation may in the future disinvest its share capital upto 49% or go for broadening of its equity base through public subscription with prior approval of the State Government and as per existing statutory provisions.

This will take immediate effect.

By order of the Governor,

A. S. BISWAS
Principal Secretary to the
Government of West Bengal

No. 83-SH dated 20.02.2009