MISSION YUVA
Out of umpteen challenges, the problem of unemployment of a nation is a major concern especially the government and the youth involved. In J&K too, the employment landscape presents a gloomy picture with unemployment rate at 6.1%. The menace of unemployment is one of the biggest barriers in the path of economy.
In order to combat the burning issue of unemployment in UT of J&K, the Government has approved Project YUVA (Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan) a flagship programme aimed at accelerating employment opportunities through entrepreneurship across the UT. The initiative is poised to create a lasting impact by developing a robust business ecosystem in UT of J&K and make it as a thriving business hub of enterprises and holistic employment by fostering entrepreneurship, and unlocking the economic potential of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mission of Mission YUVA
With Project YUVA, the Government eyes to create 1,37,000 enterprises which shall eventually lead to employment opportunities for 4,25,000 youths of J&K over next five years. The mission is implemented in convergence with self-employment schemes of other departments to ensure better effectiveness by leveraging the resources of other programmes. Further, the project is also aimed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of existing employment generation schemes. Aimed at providing a sigh of relief for the unemployed youth of the UT, the mega Initiative of the Government has come up with a four-pronged strategy. These are:
Creation of Nano-Entrepreneurs and Collectives:
- Small-scale businesses with a maximum project cost of Rs 10 lakh.
- Includes businesses such as street vending, tailoring, grocery stores, and small-scale manufacturing.
- Open to first-time entrepreneurs with no prior formal credit history required.
Creation of New MSMEs in Focus & Sunrise Sectors
- Projects above Rs 10 lakh up to Rs 120Crore.
- Businesses in high-growth sectors like renewable energy, pharma, IT, and advanced manufacturing.
- Eligible for interest subvention of 6% per annum for 5 years with maximum cap of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 30 lakh and Rs 75 lakh respectively for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, whichever is lower.
- Formal registration under MSME is mandatory.
Business Acceleration of Existing Enterprises
- Projects above Rs 10 lakh up to Rs 25Crore.
- Micro-enterprises looking to expand their existing business operations.
- Eligible for interest subvention of 6% per annum for 5 years, with a maximum cap of Rs 10 lakh, whichever is lower.
- Must be an existing, registered enterprise.
Creation of Neo-Innovative Enterprises (Early stage start-ups)
- Startups in technology, IT, R&D, and innovation-driven fields.
- Eligible for funding under Rs 250 Cr venture capital fund.
- Support is provided through innovation hubs and incubators.
Gearing up for the successful implementation of the Scheme guidelines and come up with the specialized loan products under different initiatives for finance requirements for the youth, UTs premier financial institution J&K Bank has designed the products in line with the Scheme guidelines of the sponsoring department – Labour and Employment Department, Govt. of J&K. Accordingly, Bank too has rolled out the Products under above mentioned first three credit-linked initiatives.
The Government has also come up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for applicants to be followed and has developed a user-friendly App/Portal called ‘Mission YUVA’. There is completely an online journey available for the potential entrepreneurs as application and disbursal of credit has been digitized, from applying under any Enterprise up to completion/sustenance of the Unit. The Subsidy/Incentive/Subvention is also app based and is directly credited into borrowers loan/subsidy account at backend.
Eligible Activities under Creation of Nano Enterprise Scheme
It is worth mentioning that the applications under Creation of Nano Enterprises Scheme are likely to scale up and shall, as expected bring down the unemployment rate in UT to some extent. Applicants can set up their income generating units under Manufacturing, Services or Trade.
Tailoring, Flour Milling, Handicraft Production, Food Product Manufacturing, Furniture and Carpenter Work, Accessory and Cosmetics Manufacturing (bangles, jewellery), Plastics Products Manufacturing, Automobile Spare Parts Manufacturing, Agricultural Products Manufacturing, Construction Products Manufacturing, Ice Products (Ice cream, Ice cubes) Manufacturing, Detergent & Cleaning Supplies Manufacturing, Cricket balls Manufacturing and so on can be undertaken under Manufacturing sector.
Similarly, under Trade category, activities like Opening of General Store, Textile Shop, Fruit and Vegetable Store, Electronic Items Shop, Grocery Retail, Food and Beverage Retail (restaurants, street food), Garment and Footwear Retail, Medical Needs, Cosmetics Shop, Footwear Shop, Fancy Item Shop, Stationary Shop, Spices Shop etc can be opted by the beneficiaries.
Opening of Beauty Parlour, Laundry Service, Photocopy Services, Hotels/Restaurant/Tea Shop, Hair Salon & Beauty Parlour, Electronics Repair Shop, Computer/E-Service/Internet Centre, Transport Service, General Service Store, Mobile Service Store, Tent House, Logistic Service, Printing Shop, Sound System/DJ Services, Decorating Services, Bike Rental Services, X-ray Units and Small Clinics, Web Designing Services etc can be kick started by the youth in Trade Sector.Not only this, activities under Farm based Enterprise like Horticulture, Vegetable Cultivation, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Units, Beekeeping, Aquaculture, Insect Cultivation including Sericulture etc can also be a choice for the budding entrepreneurs to start with.
Subsidy and Interest Subvention from the Government
- The borrower entrepreneurs shall avail two kinds of benefits in the form of Subsidy/Incentive and Interest subvention (relief from interest charged).
- Subsidy/Incentive: –
- 25% of the project cost for General Entrepreneurs, up to a maximum of Rs 1,00,000 in subsidy.
- 30% of the project cost for women entrepreneurs and persons with disabilities (Minimum Disability of 40%) up to a maximum of Rs 1,00,000 in subsidy.
Interest Subvention
An Interest Subvention @ 5% per annum with a maximum upper ceiling of Rs 50,000 shall be provided for a period of up to 5 years towards interest repayment.The interest subvention amount will be credited into the borrower’s account quarterly in two different phases. (5% interest subvention means that if Bank charges the loan, say @ 9%, only 4% shall be actually charged from the borrower).
Eligibility
Beneficiaries in the age bracket of 18 to 59 are eligible under the Scheme. The business operations, they choose must be set up within the UT of J&K only. Existing enterprises who have availed other govt. schemes related to self-employment before can also apply, but only if they have fully repaid those loans at least 6 months before applying for this scheme. Further, they must use the benefits under his scheme only for the creation of new enterprises and not for expansion of any existing enterprises.
Furthermore, it must be ensured that no member of the applicant’s family is a defaulter of any previously availed benefit under any government-sponsored self-employment scheme. It is worth mentioning that only one person from one family shall be eligible for obtaining financial assistance under this Scheme. The ‘family’ includes the self, spouse and unmarried children.
Key features of the Scheme
The hassle-free finance can be availed up to maximum of 90% by the borrower and as he/she has to bear a margin of minimum 10% of the project cost himself/herself. The loans that fall in MSE category are utterly ‘collateral free loans’ and bank shall never ask for a third party guarantee from the prospective borrowers. Moratorium up to a maximum of 06 months is also provided as a relief depending on the nature of business/DPR. The Loan Processing Charges are NIL and also if a borrower wished for early repayment of the loan, no any charges shall be levied on him/her.
Process Flow
Applicants, after logging in the Mission YUVA app have to first create a profile with basic details like name, gender, residence etc with uploading of minimum documents like Aadhaar, PAN etc. Then the application will be viewed by Business Help Desk (BHD)/Motivators/YUVA DOOTs as soon as application initiated on the portal/app. They can assist applicants in queries and they can make edits to applications. They may even submit the application on behalf of the beneficiary only if the beneficiary asks for support.
Once application is initiated by the applicant and send to Small Business Desk Units (SBDUs) within 15 days of initiation of application by the applicant for verification. SBDU official will help the applicant complete the application by checking if all documents are uploaded and valid. They will also help the applicant design and upload technical documents like DPR and add any missing details. If the applicant does not respond despite 3 reminders over 2 months, SBDU can mark the application as inactive and recommend its rejection with reasons recorded in the system. The application verified by SBDU will reach the concerned District Level Implementation Committee (DLCI) for final approval within 15 days and send it to bank.
Need of the time is that the Departments concerned should provide wide publicity to the Mission YUVA Scheme thorough print, electronic or social media platforms so that maximum unemployed youth can avail the benefits under the Scheme. Further, it is high time for the youth of the UT to come forward, make mind to commence any income generating unit/activity of their choice, be employed and start providing employment opportunities to others also.
Let me conclude by a famous quote of Italian politician, Romano Prodi who says, “Italy is divided between us and them, rich and poor, north and south, young and old, employed and unemployed”.
(Author works in J&K and is presently posted at Corporate Headquarters, Srinagar)
