The government today asked banks to speed up disbursement of loans under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) to meet the target of financing over 59,000 projects in the current fiscal.
"I request all the CMDs of banks to issue policy circulars to the financing branches to ensure fulfillment of the targets allocated," Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Dinsha Patel said here.
In the current fiscal, the ministry has fixed a target of implementing 59,714 projects under the PMEGP with margin money assistance of Rs 836 crore.
This would help generate employment for 5.97 lakh persons, he said at a National Workshop on the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme.
The minister, however, said so far the disbursements only amount to 10 per cent of the target for this financial year. The need of the hour is for the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to reach every village, he said.
Under the scheme, out of the total loans sanctioned by banks, 15 per cent is meant for scheduled castes, while 7.5 per cent would be for scheduled tribes, 27 per cent for other backward classes, 5 per cent for minorities and 30 per cent for women.
Since the launch of the scheme in 2008, about one lakh projects have been sanctioned, providing jobs to about 10 lakh people.
Under the PMEGP, urban and rural entrepreneurs in the general category can avail a subsidy of 15 per cent and 25 per cent on the project cost. In the case of weaker sections of society, a 25 per cent and 35 per cent subsidy is provided to urban and rural businessmen.
The KVIC, the nodal agency to implement the PMEGP, assigns targets to its field officers and the khadi and village industries boards of various states.
On the occasion, Union Bank of India and KVIC signed an agreement for a 'one bank, one nodal branch' concept under which a bank would coordinate the operations of its branches across the country through a single nodal branch.
