Assam selects nearly 75k beneficiaries under second phase of Atmanirbhar Abhiyan: Minister

Guwahati, July 18 (IANS) Assam Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Minister Bimal Borah has said that the state government has selected 74,694 beneficiaries under the second phase of the Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhiyan (CMAAA), aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment among the youth.

Addressing reporters here on Friday, Borah added that the selected beneficiaries include 74,350 from the general category and 344 professionals such as doctors, engineers, pharmacists, chartered accountants and MBA graduates.

He said that each selected beneficiary has already received the first instalment of Rs 75,000. After completing mandatory training and fulfilling the scheme’s conditions, general category beneficiaries will become eligible for financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakh, while eligible professionals can receive support of up to Rs 5 lakh.

The Minister said district-wise three-day entrepreneurship training programmes are currently underway across Assam.

The training is being conducted by various government departments depending on the nature of the proposed enterprise.

Those planning ventures in agriculture are being trained by the Agriculture Department, while prospective handloom entrepreneurs are receiving specialised guidance from the Handloom Department.

Participants are also being trained in bookkeeping, financial management and business operations.

Borah said the training programme is scheduled to conclude by July 31, after which the remaining financial assistance will be released to eligible beneficiaries.

Highlighting the scheme’s progress, he added that the Atmanirbhar Asom Abhiyan was launched on September 23, 2023, with the objective of creating a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem and making Assam’s youth self-reliant through financial support and capacity-building.

Under the first phase of the scheme, the state government had selected over 25,000 general category beneficiaries and more than 200 professionals.

The first instalment was followed by an assessment of beneficiaries through around 100 Chief Minister’s Fellows, who evaluated fund utilisation, business progress and the need for further handholding.

“Based on the assessment, more than 12,300 entrepreneurs qualified for the next stage of financial assistance,” Borah added.

–IANS

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