Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

- The Central Government on August 14, 2008 announced a new employment generation scheme to create over 37 lakh jobs by merging the existing Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) and the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP). Government has targeted to Create 37 Lakh New Jobs through this New Credit linked Subsidy Scheme.
- The new credit-linked subsidy programme, called Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) was approved at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in the second week of August 2008.
- The financial implication of the new scheme, to be implemented over a four year period, is estimated at Rs. 4,485 crore as reported by the then Union Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram.
- The expected employment generation under the new scheme would be 37,37,500 as stated by the Finance Minister.
- Under the PMEGP which will be implemented through the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the maximum cost of a project admissible under the manufacturing sector will be Rs. 25 lakh and in the business sector Rs. 10 lakh. There is to be no ceiling on the annual income of the beneficiary.
- The beneficiaries will, inter alia, be identified with the help of the Panchayats and at special awareness camps, and provided a mandatory Entrepreneurship Development Programme Training for two three weeks.
- In urban areas, the subsidy for the general category would be 15 per cent and 25 per cent for special categories such as the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, the other Backward classes, minorities, women, exservicmen, the physically handicapped, the north-east and hill and border areas.
- In rural areas, the subsidy would be 25 per cent for the general category and 35 per cent for the special categories.
- The owner's contribution would be 10 per cent in the general category and five per cent in the special category.