(a) whether the Government has launched any scheme to provide additional employment opportunities
to the agricultural workers by setting up industries in the rural areas;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the extent to which the agricultural workers are likely to be benefited?
MINISTER FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SHRI MAHABIR PRASAD)
(a) to (c): The Government (in the Ministry of Micro, Small and medium Enterprises) has been
implementing a number of schemes throughout the country. Of these the most important are the
two credit-linked subsidy schemes, namely, the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP)
and the Prime Minister`s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY), for creation of off-farm employment
opportunities by assisting individual entrepreneurs, educated unemployed youth, self help
groups, etc., including agricultural workers, in setting up village industries, including
related business/service enterprises. REGP is implemented in rural areas and small towns
with population below 20,000 while PMRY is implemented in both rural and urban areas.
The Government (in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) proposes to
promote the agro and rural industries through a new scheme called “Prime Minister’s Employment
Generation Programme†(PMEGP), proposed to be formulated by the merger of REGP and PMRY, with
the proposed allocation of Rs.823.00 crore (BE) for 2008-09 to enable generation of an
estimated 6 lakh employment opportunities through setting up of around 1 lakh self
employment ventures/units in the remaining years of Eleventh Plan.