The youth of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir now have plenty of opportunities to create employment opportunities for the people of the Valley with the help of the Indian government’s Prime Minister’s Employment Guarantee Program (PMEGP).
A prime example of the benefit of the scheme is young entrepreneur Muhammad Asgar Bhat from Wahibugh from the district of South Kashmir who has started a unit of shoe, slippers or Chappal making under the Centre sponsored scheme.
“PMEGP gave me Rs 25 lakh loan to start my business and I have completed five to six months. Over 20 people work in this unit. I appeal to the people who are unemployed to take benefit of the scheme like me,” said Bhat, the owner of the Shoe/Slipper manufacturing unit.
Bhat further said that he was grateful to the Centre’s scheme which supported him to earn his living.
The UT administration also lent its support in making Muhammad Asgar Bhat business and wants more people to come forward and avail the government’s schemes for their welfare.
Manager of District Industries Centre (DIC), G M Bhat, said, “Three are three agencies working under PMEGP which a central sponsored scheme, providing to loan for their unemployed youth. The government in its scheme provides 35 per cent of subsidy. At least 742 people got benefits of the scheme.”
“We also organise awareness programme and appeal to youth to come and get benefit to the central sponsored scheme,” he added.
Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Guarantee Program, unemployed educated youth are being provided loans with subsidies to start their own business units and in this regard, many business units have been established in Pulwama.