Employment generated under PMEGP fell 9.5 pct YoY in FY16, says analysis

The number of employment opportunities generated under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) fell from over 3.5 lakh in 2014-15 to 3.2 lakh in 2015-16 thereby registering year-on-year decline of over 9.5 per cent, noted an analysis conducted by apex industry body ASSOCHAM.

"Besides, the number of projects set up under the PMEGP also reduced from over 48,100 in FY15 to about 44,300," noted an ASSOCHAM analysis of data compiled by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Uttar Pradesh topped with over 43,000 jobs generated under the PMEGP in FY16 but the number of jobs reduced from over 48,600 that were generated in FY15 thereby registering year-on-year decline of over 11 percent.

Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar and Odisha are four other states in this regard.

"The PMEGP is an effective scheme aimed at reducing unemployment and generating sustainable employment opportunities in rural and urban India, but there is a need for banks and other institutions must put in collaborative efforts in place to meet the targets of this programme," said D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber's analysis.

While the number of credit proposals approved under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) increased significantly from just over four lakh to over 5.1 lakh between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the approved amount under this scheme got reduced from Rs 21,200 crore in FY15 to over Rs 19,900 crore in FY16 i.e. a fall of over six percent.

Even the number of MSMEs benefitted as part of Marketing Assistance and Technology Up-gradation programme also reduced from 359 in FY15 to 303 in FY16.

Besides, the number of trainees under the Entrepreneur Development Programmes Scheme also reduced significantly from over 1.4 lakh in FY15 to just over 66,000 in FY16.

While the number of MSMEs benefitted under Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme reduced from over 7,200 in FY15 to just over 5,000 in FY16, the amount of subsidy released also declined by over 28 per cent during this period.

The number of new ideas approved as part of Entrepreneurial Development of SMEs through Incubators have increased from 143 in FY15 to 145 in FY16.

Even the number of programmes conducted by Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre (IPFC) have increased by over three times i.e. from 21 in FY15 to 69.