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Scheme for women entrepreneurs gets 23 lakh applicants in just a month in Bihar
Introduced before the Assembly elections, the scheme, which provides for paying Rs 10,000 each to prospective women entrepreneurs, is being seen as a key reason for ruling NDA's resounding return to power
Notably, urban women entrepreneurs have not been disbursed the first installment of Rs 10,000 yet.
With Bihar extending the deadline for applying for Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana till December 31, the state government has received over 23 lakh applications for the scheme in a little over one month.
With this, the total number of applications for the scheme, popularly known as “dushazaari” scheme, has now surged to 1.8 crore, which includes 1.44 crore prospective women entrepreneurs who had received the amount before Assembly elections.
The figure includes 18 lakh applications from urban areas, including five lakh received in last one month.
The scheme is routed through self-help groups (SHGs), popularly known as Jeevika.
Jeevika CEO Himanshu Sharma told The Indian Express: “We expect around a total of over 2 crore women (to participate in the scheme). It could be an optimum number, given there are 2.7 crore families in the state. Over 21 lakh taxpayers would also be out of it and so would government servants and many who make up the urban populace.”
Sharma said the department has been overwhelmed with the response to the scheme. “Our next step is to monitor how the applicants have been going about the business proposal. Let us also make it clear that Rs 2.10 lakh is not the fixed amount to be given under the scheme. The assistance amount would depend on the scale and viability of the entrepreneurship.”
Sharma said the Rs 10,000 which has already been given out would not have to be returned. “We had erroneously given Rs 10,000 each to 470 handicapped men. Now, women members from their families are applying to get the amount adjusted. No coercive action is being taken against anyone under handicapped category.”
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Introduced right before the Assembly elections, the scheme, as part of which the government decided to pay Rs 10,000 each to prospective women entrepreneurs, turned out to be a winning initiative for the ruling NDA. The scheme provided for extending financial assistance up to Rs 2.10 lakh in several installments to women planning to venture into entrepreneurship avenues, including poultry, fisheries, agro-based business, painting and any other allied fields with the rider that the scheme would not be open to anyone who is a tax-payee or has a tax-paying spouse.
Notably, urban women entrepreneurs have not been disbursed the first installment of Rs 10,000 yet.
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