Rural India – Bada Business

Traditional and Rural Enterprises: 5 Schemes by Government to Protect & Develop The Sector

Rural India has a variety of industrial set-up including cottage industry, single-unit manufacturing, small and medium enterprises among others, since long-back. The traditional industries still thrive and provide employment to many villagers and people in the nearby areas. There are several traditional industries which are viably operative. These include handloom, handicrafts, coir, cashew, beedi, tiles and bricks and other household industrial activities carried out in the rural parts of the country. Traditional industries are labour intensive, relying on skills passed on from one generation to another generation. Mostly these industries comes under the category of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs)

The MSMEs contribute about 30 per cent to India’s GDP In terms of exports as well, they are an integral part of the supply chain and contribute about 40% of the overall exports. MSMEs also play an important role in employment generation, as they employ about 110 million people across the country. Governments at various levels, time and again, have implemented various schemes in order to protect and promote rural entrepreneurship and traditional industries. Here are some the schemes imitated by the government for their development –

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

Launched by the centre in 2008, this scheme is a credit-linked subsidy programme undertaken to generate self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector and providing help to traditional artisans and unemployed youth. The scheme is implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) functioning as the nodal agency at the national level. At the State level, the scheme is implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs), District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks.

A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry & Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE)

This scheme was launched in 2019 to create new jobs and reduce unemployment, promote entrepreneurship culture in India, boost grassroots economic development at the district level, facilitate innovative business solutions, and promote innovation to further strengthen the competitiveness of the MSME sector. The scheme helps by providing for incubation and commercialisation of Business Ideas Programme through technical/research institutes, including those in the field of agro-based industry. These would be designated as Knowledge Partners and would incubate new/existing technologies for their commercialisation.

Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)

The scheme aims for the development of khadi, village industries, and coir clusters by providing them with improved equipment, common facilities centres, business development services, training, capacity building and design, and marketing support, etc. The scheme invites applications from non-government organisations (NGOs), institutions of the Central and State governments and semi-government institutions, field functionaries of State and Central government, Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs), private sector bodies by forming cluster-specific special purpose vehicles/entities (SPVs), corporate, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) foundations with expertise to undertake cluster development.

Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)

It facilitates credit to MSMEs through collateral-free credit facility (term loan and/or working capital) extended by eligible lending institutions to new and existing micro and small enterprises. The MSME Ministry and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) jointly established a Trust named Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises in order to implement Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises. 75 per cent of the loan amount to the bank is guaranteed by the Trust Fund. It provides collateral-free loan up to a limit of Rs 100 Lakh for individual MSMEs on payment of a guarantee fee to the bank.

Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS)

It facilitates technological development of small scale industries, including khadi, village and coir industrial units, by providing 15 per cent upfront capital subsidy with a upper limit of Rs 15 Lakh. Its objective is to upgrade the plant and machinery of small enterprises with state-of-the-art technology, with or without expansion, and also for new MSMEs, which have set up their facilities with appropriate, eligible and proven technology duly approved under scheme guidelines.

Apart from these, the government have certain other schemes aimed towards the development and conservation of the traditional industries in India. It also aims to keep the spirit of entrepreneurship alive and going in the rural area.

The Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) on Thursday announced new guidelines for two more schemes which include ‘Pottery Activity’ and ‘Beekeeping Activity’. The Ministry said that for pottery activity, the government will provide assistance of pottery wheel, clay blunger, and granulator. A total of 6,075 traditional and others (non-traditional) pottery artisans/rural unemployed youth or migrant labourers will be benefited from this scheme. “It will also provide wheel pottery training for traditional pottery artisans and Press Pottery training for pottery as well as non-pottery artisans in Self Help Groups,” it added.

The Ministry had few days back announced expanding and doubling the support to Artisans who might be interested in making Agarbatti. These new initiatives of the Ministry with beneficiary oriented Self-Employment schemes, are aimed at rejuvenating the grass root economy contributing to Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

For ‘Pottery Activity’ Government will provide assistance of pottery wheel, Clay Blunger, Granulator etc.
It will also provide Wheel Pottery Training for traditional pottery artisans and Press Pottery training for pottery as well as non-pottery artisans in Self Help Groups.
There is also provision to provide Jigger-Jolly training programme for pottery as well as non-pottery artisan in Self Help Groups.

In case of the Pottery improvements in the Scheme are:

Skill-development training on focused products like garden pots, cooking-wares, khullad, water bottles, decorator products, mural, etc. to SHGs of pottery-artisans has been introduced
Focus of the new Scheme is to enhance the production, technical know-how of pottery artisans and efficiency of potter energy kilns to reduce cost of production
Efforts will be made to develop necessary market linkages by tying up with exports and large buying houses

For ‘Beekeeping Activity’:

In case of the Scheme for ‘Beekeeping Activity’, the government will provide assistance of Bee boxes, Tool kits etc.
Under this scheme, Bee boxes, with Bee colonies, will also be distributed to Migrant workers in Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan (PMGKRA) districts.
A 5 days’ beekeeping training will also be provided to the beneficiaries through various Training Centres /State Beekeeping Extension Centres/ Master Trainers as per prescribed syllabus.

A total of 6,075 traditional and others (non-traditional) pottery artisans/Rural Un-employed youth/Migrant Labourers will get benefitted from this Scheme. As Financial support for the year 2020-21, an amount of Rs.19.50 crore will be expended to support 6,075 artisans with a Centre of Excellence, with MGIRI, Wardha, CGCRI, Khurja, VNIT, Nagpur and suitable IIT/NID/ NIFT etc, for product development, advance skill programme, and quality standardization of products.

Additional amount of Rs 50.00 crore has been provisioned for setting up of clusters in Terracotta, Red clay pottery, with new innovative value added products to build pottery to crockery/ tile making capabilities, under ‘ SFURTI’ scheme of the Ministry.

To begin with, Scheme proposes to cover, during 2020-21, a total of 2,050 Beekeepers, Entrepreneurs, Farmers, Unemployed Youth, Adivasis will get benefitted from these projects/programme.

For this purpose a financial support of Rs 13 crore during 2020-21 has been provisioned to support 2,050 artisans ( 1250 people from Self Help Groups and 800 Migrant labourers), with a Centre of Excellence with CSIR/ IIT Or other Top class Institute to develop honey based new value added products. Additional amount of Rs. 50.00 crore has also been kept for developing Beekeeping honey clusters under the ‘ SFURTI scheme of the Ministry.

It may be recalled that the initiative to rejuvenate Agarbatti making at grass-root level few days back, is a step which also directed towards make India Aatmnirbhar in supply of this household consumption item. The interventions include the support to the artisans through training, raw material, innovation in the fragrance & packaging, use of new / alternate raw materials, marketing and financial support.

The program will immediately benefit about 1500 artisans, in providing sustainable employment with increased earnings. Artisans living in rural areas, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and ‘Migrant workers’ will particularly benefit from the program. In addition to enhancing employment opportunities locally, the programme will also help in capturing the export market in such products.