Credit and finance for MSMEs: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman Manoj Kumar on Sunday released the margin money subsidy of Rs 100.63 crores to 3,083 beneficiaries under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) scheme with the sanctioned loan of Rs 296.19 crore for PMEGP projects (new enterprises). This will create new employment opportunities for around 25,000 people, the MSME ministry said in a statement.
The subsidy was released during an event organised in the Karauli district of Rajasthan where Kumar also distributed 300 bee boxes including bee colony to beekeepers. He said KVIC took up this endeavour as the Honey Mission to create new employment opportunities and increase the income of beekeepers and the yield of farmers’ crops. According to Kumar, under the scheme, 17,570 beekeepers have been trained and 1.75 lakh bee boxes have been distributed along with bee colonies.
Launched in 2008 and implemented by the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the scheme provides credit up to Rs 50 lakh (increased from earlier up to Rs 25 lakh) to aspiring entrepreneurs for launching their new manufacturing units and up to Rs 20 lakh (from Rs 10 lakh earlier) for new service units. The scheme was also extended over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 13,554.42 crore.
“Under the PMEGP scheme, more than 8 lakh projects have been approved so far, under which more than 68 lakh people have been provided employment opportunities across the country by the disbursement of ‘margin money subsidy’ of more than Rs 21,000 crore,” Kumar said.
Moreover, under the Kumhar Sashaktikarn Yojana for Potter Empowerment Scheme, KVC has distributed electric potter wheels to 24,410 potters while machines for manufacturing incense sticks to 1,560 incense artisans have been distributed for their skill development and increase in product quality and income, he added.
Till January 31 in the current fiscal, 4.43 lakh PMEGP jobs were created with 55,499 new micro units set up till January, according to the data shared by the minister of state in the MSME ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in the Rajya Sabha in February. Rs 1,782 crore in subsidy was disbursed to support new units till the end of January in FY23.