To expedite economic growth through self-employment and self-sufficiency in the State, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma launched Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan (CM-AAA) 2023 at a function held at Janata Bhawan in Guwahati on September 23. Dr. Sarma on the occasion also launched a registration portal. For implementing the ambitious scheme, the State Government will earmark ₹5,000 cr from its Budget.
At the launching ceremony, the Chief Minister said that under the scheme, financial aid will be given to two lakh youths for creating a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. “The scheme has been designed to create self-employment avenues to enable youths to fuel development of the State,” he said adding that the CM-AAA has the potential to help State’s youth to become job creators.
The scheme aims at facilitating self-employment among educated youth, creating entrepreneur-oriented ecosystems in the State, generating employment via new ventures, financial assistance to individuals to set up or expand existing enterprises, increase focus on rural economy, and increase the seed capital amount through bank linkages where feasible.
The scheme has two categories. Unemployed degree holders in Engineering, MBBS, BDS, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fishery, etc., will be part of the first category and will be given ₹5 lakh each. Dr. Sarma said that 5,000 youths will be included in the first category. On the other hand, unemployed postgraduates, graduates, ITI, Polytechnic pass-outs will be categorised in the second category for an assistance of ₹2 lakh each.
The Chief Minister said that in the first category out of ₹5 lakh, the beneficiaries will have to return ₹2.5 lakh sans interest and the remaining amount will be Government assistance. After the initial five-year period, recipients will have to repay the Government through monthly EMIs of ₹5,000. Similarly, in the second category, ₹1 lakh will be the quantum of Government subsidy and the remaining ₹1 lakh will have to be repaid by the beneficiary without any interest. After the initial five-year period, recipients of this category of the scheme will have to repay the Government through monthly EMIs of ₹2,000.
The Chief Minister said that agriculture and horticulture, stationery, poultry, dairy, goat farming, piggery, fisheries, packaging, readymade garments, fabrication, plantation- bamboo, rubber, agar, wood-based industries, etc., will be the area of focus.
The first instalment of ₹2.5 lakhs will be provided upfront. The Chief Minister said that the second instalment of the stipulated amount to each beneficiary will be disbursed based on the assessment report of utilisation of the first instalment by a third party. “Third parties like NEDFi, IIE or others will assess the utilisation of the first instalment of money to each beneficiary. Based on the assessment report, the second instalment will be released,” he added.
The Chief Minister added that in the first year of the scheme, one lakh youths will be selected for support while in the next two years, another one lakh youths will be selected.
He said that a State-level committee will select beneficiaries of the scheme based on their merit.
