Guwahati, March 16: Assam finance minister Ajanta Neog on Thursday presented a Rs 935.23 crore deficit budget for the financial year 2023-24 with a special emphasis on promotion of micro-entrepreneurship.
“With an intent to create self-employment in the private sector, which has a catalytic effect in creation of many more indirect jobs, our government proposes to implement a scheme, Mukhya Mantri Sva-Niyojan Mission, to promote micro-entrepreneurs for creating self-employment opportunities among the unemployed youth belonging to BPL families and low-income households,” Neog said in her budget speech.
“The total investment under this initiative will be Rs 5000 crore over the next three years with a potential to transform over two lakh unemployed youths into job creators,” the finance minister said.
Income-generating activities such as trading, manufacturing, service, food processing, handloom, handicraft, agriculture and allied-animal husbandry, fishery and dairy will be supported under the Mukhya Mantri Sva-Niyojan Mission.
“We propose to cover one lakh eligible beneficiaries, who will be provided with a one-time seed capital of Rs 2 lakh in tranches for starting micro-enterprise units in the next three years. This amount may be suitably increased with bank linkage wherever feasible,” the minister said.
The entrepreneurs who have already availed credit linkage under SVAYEM and are continuing their activities successfully, will be given preference in this scheme
“Besides this, our government proposes to cover another one lakh entrepreneur youths who will be provided project-based subsidies in defined projects, targeting the MSME and other segments,” Neog said.
The budget also laid emphasis on job creation in various government departments.
With the completion of two years of the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government on May 10, 2023, a total of 40,000 youths will be recruited in various departments by that date.