Tue Aug 26 00:46:01 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text, formatted for readability:

**Andhra Pradesh Women Ride Electric Scooters to Economic Empowerment**

**VISAKHAPATNAM, August 26, 2025** – A silent revolution is sweeping across Andhra Pradesh as women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are taking to the streets on electric scooters and three-wheelers, transforming themselves into micro-entrepreneurs and driving economic growth for their families.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the “One Family, One Entrepreneur” scheme on International Women’s Day, March 8, with the goal of empowering women and boosting economic stability.

The Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) partnered with ride-sharing platform Rapido to provide electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers to SHG women and their families. The government facilitated loans for over 1,000 beneficiaries in urban centers like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Nellore and Guntur, as part of a pilot phase.

Loans are disbursed in the name of SHG women, but a family member can operate the vehicle if they hold a driver’s license. MEPMA has assisted with project reports to help women secure loans from nationalized banks under the Self-Employment Programme (SEP) scheme.

Rapido has further supported the initiative by waiving platform onboarding fees and providing monthly EMI assistance of ₹1,000 for the first year.

“Women empowerment is a key focus area of the TDP government,” said Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh. “I am happy that we could create this partnership with Rapido and empower over 1,000 women. This is just a start, and we will be doing much more.”

The initiative is projected to save ₹13,000 to ₹16,000 a month due to the low running costs of electric vehicles. As of today, the program has resulted in more than 45,000 rides completed by women drivers for a total collective income of ₹35 Lakh within three months. The Andhra Pradesh government aims to scale up the initiative to reach 4,800 women by next year.

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