Lucknow, May 21 (IANS): Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Thursday, transferred online a sum of Rs 218.50 crore to the Revolving Fund and Community Investment Fund for 31,938 self-help groups (SHGs).

The Chief Minister also interacted with various SHGs and transferred the online fund to them.

"We have to break the chain of this virus. Our frontline warriors are continuously working in this direction. People working in the public places include the corona warriors, businessmen or the general public. In order to provide them with masks, women SHGs have worked with great strength. Some of them have also developed the PPE kits," he said.

The Chief Minister lauded the self-help groups and said, "They have done a great job. If these women SHGs get a little bit of guidance and encouragement, they can do anything. I also interacted with them today along with other people and I have realized that they can reach great heights."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Chief Minister had launched Uttar Pradesh Startup Fund and handed over the first installment of Rs 15 crore to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The Central government had established a Startup India portal and is providing online courses for young entrepreneurs on topics ranging from data analytics to designing.

The government hopes to establish it as a one-stop platform for all stakeholders in the startup ecosystem to interact with each other, exchange knowledge and form successful partnerships in a highly dynamic environment.