State Government will give a 75% subsidy on project costs to Single Women for self-employment | 16 May 2023

Why in News?

On 15 May 2023, Uttarakhand's Women Empowerment and Child Development Minister Rekha Arya told the media that the state government will give a 75 percent subsidy on the project cost to single women for self-employment in Uttarakhand.

Key Points:

• The departmental minister said that this subsidy will be given on projects costing Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, while 25 percent of the amount will be given as a loan without a guarantor.
• The departmental minister informed that a proposal is being prepared at the directorate level for the self-employment of single women. It will be presented in the next cabinet after the approval of the Department of Justice, Finance and Personnel.
• The departmental minister said that in the first year, 500 women would be benefited from the scheme. There are about 1.5 lakh single women in the state. Apart from this, the amount of Rs 30 thousand received by the workers from the Anganwadi Welfare Fund will be increased to Rs 50 thousand. Both proposals will be brought to the next cabinet.
• The minister said that there are four lakh single women in the state, but to make economically weak single women self-reliant, the scheme to be launched in the name of 'Ekal Mahila Self-Employment' will cover about one and a half lakh women.
• These women will be able to do any self-employment-related work like animal husbandry, beauty parlour, tea shop etc.
• To get the benefit of the scheme, the age of the woman should be 22 to 45 years and the annual income should be less than 72 thousand rupees.
• Among Single Women, widows, divorced, abandoned, unmarried women, as well as transgenders, will also be eligible for this scheme.
• In the meeting, while increasing the scope of the Mahalakshmi kit, the minister instructed to prepare a proposal for giving the kit even after the birth of a child.