Rajasthan govt to spend Rs 180 crore to promote small biz, generate jobs

The Rajasthan government has planned to spend over Rs 180 crore during the 2023-24 financial year under the Mukhyamantri Laghu Udyog Protsahan Yojana (Chief Minister Small Industries Promotion Scheme) to provide subsidised loans through banks to help small entrepreneurs in the state and generate employment opportunities.

Under the scheme, loans worth Rs 25 lakh to Rs 10 crore will be provided for setting up new enterprises and expanding existing ones, along with an interest subsidy of 5-8 per cent.

“Under this scheme, the state government in April 2023 alone disbursed subsidised loans of over Rs 46 crore to over 230 people,” an industries department official said.

The scheme was officially launched in December 2019, and so far hundreds have availed of the benefit of the scheme, he added. 

Giving details of the scheme, the official said any individual or institutional applicant, such as self-help groups, societies, partnership firms and companies, can avail of the benefits of the scheme. Only establishments based out of Rajasthan are eligible, and applicants must be aged 18 or above, the official said.  

Gunjan Shantilal of Deegod in Kota district, who set up a plant to recycle plastic waste, applied at the district industry centre after learning about the scheme and received a loan. “I collect plastic waste from nearby areas and turn them into plastic granules. The department approved a loan of Rs 75 lakh in December 2021, and I received a loan of Rs 45 lakh in July 2022,” he said. Ten people are employed in his establishment.

The state government is also organising job fairs so that the youth can find employment in private companies. So far, six mega job fairs have been organised in different districts of the state since January 2023 in which more than 21,000 youth have received appointments.

The state government said in the last four years, 150,000 youth have received jobs, and added that it was trying to recruit 100,000 youth this year.