PM Employment Generation Programme extended till 2026

Against the backdrop of rising unemployment, the government has extended the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) by five years. Now the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program will be implemented till the financial year 2026. A total of Rs 13,554.42 crore will be spent for this. With the extension of the scheme, 4 million employment opportunities will be created. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) said this on Monday. The objective of this scheme is to provide employment to the youth by setting up micro-enterprises in the non-agricultural sector. Some other changes have been made in the plan after the extension. Under this, maximum project cost for production units has been increased to Rs. 50 lakhs. At present, the limit is Rs 25 lakh. For service sector units, it has been increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

Under the scheme, special category applicants like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, Women, Tertiaries, Disabled are given subsidy at higher rates on loans taken. They receive a subsidy of 25% of the total project cost in urban areas and 35% of the total cost in rural areas. For general category applicants, the grant is 15 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. It was informed that the definition of village industry and rural area has also been changed in the scheme. Areas under Panchayati Raj Institutions will now be considered as rural areas. Areas falling under the Corporation will be considered as urban areas. All implementing agencies, whether rural or urban, will be allowed to accept applications and proceed with the process. Apart from this, ambitious districts and third party applicants will be placed in special category. They will get more grants than before.