Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Mar 12: At national level, Jammu and Kashmir has topped for generating maximum employment under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).
As per the figures available, the union territory received the highest assistance for projects under the scheme and even surpassed states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for generating maximum employment under PMEGP.
Figures suggest that Jammu and Kashmir saw 44,542 projects assisted between 2021-22 and 2023-24 (until Jan 30, 2024), receiving a margin money subsidy of Rs 921.38 crore.
This has led to an estimated 3,56,336 employment opportunities, the highest among all states and accounting for 18 per cent of the total employment generated nationwide under the scheme during this period.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, has seen 32,629 projects assisted with a margin money subsidy utilisation of Rs 1,107.4 crore, leading to an estimated 2,61,032 employment opportunities. Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, witnessed 17,337 assisted projects with a margin money subsidy of Rs 500.56 crore, resulting in an estimated 1,38,696 jobs.
Overall, the PMEGP has assisted 2,53,710 projects with a margin money subsidy of Rs 8,099 crore, generating an estimated 20,29,680 jobs over the past three years. Since its inception in 2008-09, the PMEGP has assisted a total of 9.35 lakh enterprises, creating employment for 76.35 lakh persons. The scheme, implemented by the Ministry of MSME through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), aims to provide employment opportunities to traditional artisans and unemployed youth, particularly in rural areas.
The UT government has also enhanced the financial support through various schemes to the youth to generate employment for themselves and others.
As per the figures given during the UT Level Bankers Committee Meeting, banks operating in J&K have sanctioned Rs 1,213.60 crore in favour of 25,875 beneficiaries under various employment generation schemes, including PMEGP, NRLM, NULM, PMWMY, CCS for artisans and weavers and JKREGP up to September 30, 2023.
Out of Rs1,213.60 crore, the banks sanctioned Rs 882.64 crore for 15,230 beneficiaries under PMEGP, Rs 274.14 crore for 9,145 beneficiaries under NRLM, Rs 9.99 crore for 323 beneficiaries under NULM, Rs 1.31 crore for 116 beneficiaries under PMWMY, Rs 8.22 crore for 516 beneficiaries under CCS for Artisans and Weavers and Rs.37.30 crore for545 beneficiaries under JKREGP.
