ASPIRE Scheme Boosts Women, SC/ST Entrepreneurship In Rural India: Govt

New Delhi, Dec 17 (KNN) The Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE), implemented by the Ministry of MSME, is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and livelihood opportunities in rural areas, the government informed the Rajya Sabha.

This information was provided by the Minister of State for MSME, Shobha Karandlaje, in a written reply.

Progress Under ASPIRE Scheme

The government has approved 109 Livelihood Business Incubators (LBIs) across the country under the ASPIRE scheme. A total of 1,16,726 beneficiaries have been trained so far, of which 1,141 micro-enterprises have been established.

The ministry began collecting category-wise and gender-wise data from 2022 onwards. Since then, out of 56,721 beneficiaries trained, 27,970 are women, 8,365 belong to the Scheduled Caste category, and 9,311 belong to the Scheduled Tribe category.

Initiatives for Women and SC/ST Entrepreneurs

Outreach programmes are regularly conducted by MSME field offices in coordination with state and UT governments, banks, SIDBI, CGTMSE, and MSME associations to improve access to schemes and support.

The Ministry is also implementing the National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub Scheme, which focuses on capacity building of SC/ST entrepreneurs. 

Vendor Development Programmes for SC/ST and women entrepreneurs are organised under PMSS, with Central Public Sector Undertakings also participating in such initiatives.

To further empower women entrepreneurs, the Ministry launched the ‘Yashasvini Campaign’ in June 2024, focusing on formalisation, access to credit, capacity building, mentorship and awareness of MSME schemes.

In addition, the Union Budget 2025 announced a new scheme to provide term loans of up to Rs 2 crore to women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes first-time entrepreneurs for the promotion and development of MSMEs.

Employment Generation and Enterprise Support

Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which supports self-employment through micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector, 39 per cent of beneficiaries are women. 

The MSME Champions scheme is also being implemented to enhance competitiveness and modernisation of enterprises covering incubation, design and intellectual property rights.

Boost to MSME Exports

The Ministry has established 65 Export Facilitation Centres across the country. These centres provide mentoring and handholding support, in coordination with industry bodies, state governments and Directorate General of Foreign Trade. 

(KNN Bureau)