The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP), launched in 2008, with a total plan outlay of Rs 4,735 crore for four years (2008-09 to 2011-12) has allocated Rs 2,955 crore in co-ordination with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry so far. The good run may continue in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) with double the previous fund allocation. Till date 1.36 lakh projects have been assisted, which has generated 13.16 lakh employments.
The objectives of this scheme are to generate employment opportunities in rural as well as urban areas of the country through setting up of new self-employment ventures or projects or micro enterprises. The Scheme is implemented through state Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) with the involvement of banks. It is a credit linked subsidy programme. This came into existence by merging two already running programmes viz., Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana and Rural Employment Generation Programme.
The benefits of the scheme include generation of employment opportunities in rural as well as urban areas of the country through setting up of new self employment ventures/projects/micro enterprises; to bring together widely dispersed traditional artisans/ rural and urban unemployed youth and give them self-employment opportunities to the extent possible, at their place; to provide continuous and sustainable employment to a large segment of traditional and prospective artisans and rural and urban unemployed youth in the country, so as to help arrest migration of rural youth to urban areas; to increase the wage earning capacity of artisans and contribute to increase in the growth rate of rural and urban employment.
