The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to give preference to Dalits who come in groups and in form of societies, seeking various benefits to become entrepreneurs. The government will also make available market for products manufactured by them with the help of corporate houses.
The government has set up project implementation units (PIUs) in every district that will help these Dalit groups to successfully roll out their business ventures. “Taking another step towards empowerment of Dalits in the state, the government has decided to empower Dalits in groups and help make them entrepreneurs,” Lalji Nirmal, chairman, Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation, told media persons on Sunday.
“The group could have two or more members and each member will get financial assistance of ₹50,000,” Nirmal added. “The government has also constituted project implementation units in every district to help Dalit groups successfully run their business. These units will have project officer, project technical assistant, project computer assistant and an state coordinator at the state level and other staff members,” he said.
“The government is also interacting with corporate houses for marketing of products manufactured by these groups of Dalit entrepreneurs,” Nirmal further said. In addition to this, the government will make available land to Dalit groups in villages to set up their units and help them get loan from banks.
{{/usCountry}}“The government is also interacting with corporate houses for marketing of products manufactured by these groups of Dalit entrepreneurs,” Nirmal further said. In addition to this, the government will make available land to Dalit groups in villages to set up their units and help them get loan from banks.
{{/usCountry}}“In every such village identified by the government for empowerment of Dalits, development work will be carried out with a corpus of ₹20 lakh. Apart from this, various departments of the government will also carry out development work in these villages,” he added.
Besides, the government will develop 6,171 Dalit-dominated villages as “Adarsh Gram” where all facilities will be available. Clean drinking water, solar lights, primary schools and proper sanitation among other civic amenities will be ensured in these villages.
All schemes run by the SC Finance and Development Corporation will be known as Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) and PM Adarsh Gram Yojana. The government has done away with the mandatory provision of ₹56,000 annual income limit for members of the Scheduled Caste community who want to avail benefits of various schemes run by the Scheduled Caste Finance Corporation.
However, preference would be given to those whose annual income is ₹2.50 lakh or less. Earlier, only those with an annual income of ₹56,000 or less could apply for financial assistance from the corporation. The state government has also extended limit of financial assistance from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 to those in distress in the SC community.