1 in 5 Mudra beneficiaries started new biz; job creation even less: Survey

A Labour Ministry survey, which has not been made public, shows that just one out of five beneficiaries (20.6 per cent) from the sample survey availed of Mudra loan for setting up a new establishment, the rest used the funds for expanding their existing business, Indian Express reported.

The Draft Report on Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana Survey found that 11.2 million additional jobs were created during April 2015-December 2017, the first 33 months following the rollout of the scheme. Of this, 5.106 million were self-employed or working owners which also included unpaid family members while 6.094 million were employees or hired workers.

Simply put, the number of additional jobs created in 33 months was less than 10 per cent of the total number of loans.

The government had planned to use the findings of this survey to counter the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report on unemployment which estimated the unemployment rate to be 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, a record high.The NSSO report was ready in December 2018 but was released after Lok Sabha elections on May 31, 2019.

While the survey asks beneficiaries if they set up a new unit after availing the loan, followed by a series of questions related to employment, the draft report does not share the break up in additional jobs created by new units and existing units.