Amaravati, Apr 23 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday credited Rs 1,109 crore into the bank accounts of 1.02 crore women belonging to different self-help groups (SHG) as interest reimbursement under the 'YSR Sunna Vaddi' (zero interest) scheme.

"The state government stands for women's empowerment and thus it rolled out schemes like Sunna Vaddi, Aasara, Cheyutha and Jeva Kranthi to strengthen women in all aspects," Reddy said as he transferred the funds.

Similar to 2020, the state government paid the interest amount to women who took loans from banks in this year as well.

According to the Chief Minister, women from SHGs were allegedly burdened with over Rs 3,000 crore penal interest in the previous regime, believing that the previous government would waive off the loans as promised during the 2014 polls.

Reddy said that the number of beneficiaries under the scheme has gone up from 8.71 lakh to 9.34 lakh, empowered by the confidence in the current government.

"The government is committed to women's welfare, economic progress and overall development of women," he noted.