Maharashtra plans scheme to generate 10 lakh jobs for MSMEs

Mumbai, July 30 (KNN) Two months ahead of Assembly polls in Maharashtra, the government will launch the Chief Minister Employment Generation Programme (CMEGP), expected to generate 10 lakh jobs in the next five years.

The programme will provide around Rs 15 lakh each for 10,000 micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in return for 2 lakh jobs every year.

Development Commissioner of the state Harshdeep Kamble said, "We are launching CMEGP in the next few weeks. Units with capital investment of up to Rs 50 lakh will be funded up to 35 percent by the state, once 10 percent of investment is raised by the entrepreneur."

He has roped in private and nationalized banks to provide loans to the MSME units in addition to the government funding.

Kamble said that the remaining capital has to be raised through loans by the banks. We expect 1 lakh such industrial units to be set up in the next five years, of which 10,000 units are expected in the first year and 20,000 units in the second year.

The government has also tied up with the Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (CGCI) for the collateral guarantee to stand in as surety to the banks if investors default.

Also, nearly 5 percent of the working capital population of the state and around 40 lakh people are unemployed, the industries department has estimated.

He asserted that the scheme is on the lines of the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, under which 16,000 have applied from Maharashtra, against the target of 5,000 applications. Our scheme will cater to the remaining.

We have tied up with many private banks and expect funding of Rs. 2,000crore from them in the next five years. The state government has made a provision of Rs. 300 crore this fiscal towards its share of the subsidy, he added.