Summary

Summary
This 120 primary societies and 30,000 fishermen-strong federation has annual sales of INR 450m (E 8.1m, US $11m) and provides a wide range of activities and services ranging from boat manufacturing, to microfinance or advice to fisherwomen's associations in order to "assume collective control over [the fishermen's] own destinies". The Federation was also involved in the Tsunami relief, particularly by building homes.Because fishermen lead dangerous lives, SIFFS has developed into a not for profit nodal agency that works under a partner-agent model "with various mainstream insurance companies in India" in order to protect its fishermen. It provides an old age security scheme to 2,600 members, which offers remuneration rates of 9% calculated quarterly on members' savings (which total INR 3.5m (E 63,000)). It hopes to extend its non-life insurance category to assets in order to insure the fishing equipment. There are also two types of life insurances, one abbreviated "JBY" for the 7,049 boat owners, which the central government of India subsides at 50% and which covers natural or accidental death, and one for five un-named members of each crew, through a daily register held by the craft owner to cover only the crew members' accidental death while fishing. A secondary school scholarship programme is also offered to JBY members' children.