Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra: PM meets with beneficiaries of central schemes

A Mumbai-based single mother and a beneficiary of the government's micro-finance initiatives, while interacting virtually with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, said her entrepreneurial success has enabled her to send her son to France for studies.

The woman entrepreneur, Meghna, added that central schemes such as Mudra and Svanidhi had helped expand her catering business, which supports 25 women.

Meghna was among the beneficiaries of central schemes who interacted with the prime minister after he flagged off the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram on Saturday.

"Our agenda is to assist people in saving money," Modi said, flagging off the Yatra, the government's mega outreach exercise to ensure saturation coverage of central initiatives.

Meghna, during her interaction with the prime minister, said she had availed a loan of Rs 90,000 through the Mudra Yojana to purchase utensils for her catering unit.

Meghna also told Modi that after expanding her business with the help of the Mudra Yojana and Svanidi Yojana, she was able to avail an education loan for her son who is currently studying in France.

She said she also took training for tailoring under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana for 100 women who were now exporting handmade quilts to the US and Canada.

Kushla Devi, a water carrier in a primary school in Rohru, Shimla, said she received assistance of Rs 1.85 lakh for a house under the PM Awas Yojana, which helped her in building a pucca house.

Dharma Rajan, a banana farmer from Kerala's Kozhikode told the prime minister that he had availed of the benefits of Kisan Credit Card loan, PM Kisan Sammanidhi, PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and PM Suraksha Bima Yojana.

Modi noted that the government schemes and loans were helping Rajan save more money for the family, which would have been otherwise spent on high-interest rates of moneylenders.

Guwahati-based Kalyani Rajbongshi, a homemaker who runs a self help group, said she got assistance from the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprise Scheme to expand her food processing unit.