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Rajya Sabha
As per the latest quinquennial Survey of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSS0) on employment and unemployment (55th round; 1999-2000), the total workforce of the country is 336.75 million. Approximately 1.8 per cent of this workforce is employed in agro and rural industries, coming under the purview of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
The number of employment opportunities in the Khadi and Village Industries (KVI) Sector, including agro and rural industries under the KVIC, has shown an increasing trend over the last few years as given below: -
Year
Employment in KVI sector including agro and rural industries (Number in Lakh persons)
1999-00
59.23
2000-01
60.07
2001-02
62.64
2002-03
66.45
2003-04
71.18
The Government has been implementing the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) through the KVIC to promote agro and rural industries in the country. Under this programme, an entrepreneur can establish a village industry by availing of margin money assistance from the KVIC and loans from any public sector scheduled commercial bank, for projects with a maximum cost of Rs. 25 lakh. Projects costing upto Rs. 10 lakh are entitled to margin money support to upto 25 per cent of the project cost. For projects costing above Rs. 10 lakh and upto Rs. 25 lakh, the rate of margin money support is 25 per cent of Rs. 10 lakh plus 10 per cent of the balance cost of the project for the general category of entrepreneurs. In the case of entrepreneurs from the weaker sections, viz., the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Women, Physically Handicapped, Ex-servicemen, Minority Community, etc., the margin money is given at the rate of 30 percent of the project cost upto Rs. 10 lakh while for projects costing above Rs. 10 lakh and upto Rs. 25 lakh, the rate of margin money assistance is 30 per cent of Rs. 10 lakh plus 10 per cent of the balance cost of the project. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) target is to generate 25 lakh jobs under the REGP. During the first two years of the Tenth Plan i.e., 2002-03 and 2003-04, 8.3 lakh jobs were created under the REGP.
Shri Mahabir Prasad, Minister of Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries, gave this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
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