Question : STEP Scheme

(a) whether the Government proposes to promote self employment among the women of Kalahandi and Nuapada districts in Odisha through Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme; and

(b) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (b) : The Government of India has taken various steps to promote self employment among the women. There are schemes like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Stand Up India and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana for helping the women to set up their own enterprises. Mudra Yojana Scheme for women launched in 2015, provides financial support to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses. Financial institutions also extend Mudra loans for women to encourage women entrepreneurs in the country. The Stand up India scheme aims at promoting entrepreneurship among women and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore to at least one scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch of Scheduled Commercial Banks for setting up Greenfield enterprises in trading, manufacturing and services sector. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Kendras under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana lay emphasis on creating additional infrastructure both for training and apprenticeship for women; flexible training delivery mechanisms, flexible afternoon batches on local need-based training to accommodate women; and ensuring safe and gender sensitive training environment, employment of women trainers, equity in remuneration, and complaint redressal mechanism.

In so far as the Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme is concerned, it has been discontinued from the Financial Year 2017-18.

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