Jammu, Feb 22 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board has released an amount of Rs 348.48 crore as margin money (subsidy) in favour of entrepreneurs who had applied loan from the board since 2019, its vice-chairperson Hina Shafi Bhat said.
The amount was released to 15,459 unit holders under JK Rural Employment Generation Programme (JKREGP) and Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), directly benefiting 118,188 individuals in the past three years, Hina said.
She said KVIB has no cap on extending assistance to local youth and can provide handholding to any number of youth willing to start their enterprises in the Union Territory.
“The board has created employment avenues for lakhs of educated unemployed, poor, down-trodden and marginal sections of the society,” the KVIB vice-chairperson told reporters here.
Hina, a BJP leader, also said that KVIB under the mission ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ is ensuring its reach to all segments of the society.
She said 5,338 women entrepreneurs have been assisted by the board under its various programmes including providing subsidies of Rs Rs 1.58 crore to 49 ex-servicemen and war widows.
Besides, KVIB is establishing eight clusters under handloom, handicrafts and beekeeping sectors under the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) of Union Ministry of MSME, she said.
Hina said the scheme aims at protecting the interests of traditional artists and craftsmen who have adopted the traditional trades for earning their livelihoods.
She said the clusters are being established with an approved assistance of Rs 20 crore from the Union Ministry of MSME involving 10,000 artisans and beekeepers, directly and indirectly, in line with the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Under the National Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Hub (NSSH) scheme the board has conducted 23 awareness camps, 10 workshops, 10 vendor development programmes and six exhibitions besides imparting training to 922 SC and ST candidates under Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP).
Asking the youth of J&K to apply for the relevant schemes being implemented by the board, she said it could be done online by following a few simple steps before submitting their applications for availing the benefits on offer.
Regarding the role of board during the ensuing pandemic, the Vice Chairperson highlighted that KVIB has worked hard in fighting Covid-19 by manufacturing more than 11 lakh masks, thereby creating approximately 10,500 man days of work.
The masks were supplied to district administrations, government organizations, police and military forces, she said.
She also announced that a major chunk of youth resides in urban areas and the board is contemplating to start the J&K Urban Employment Generation Programme (JKUEGP) to reach out to them so that these educated, unemployed youth get employment for earning their livelihoods respectfully. PTI TAS AB MR MR
