In a review meeting of Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal claimed that Board has generated employment avenues to four thousand people by providing financial assistant of Rs. 35 crore to 636 beneficiaries during last four years.
Chief Minister said that Khadi Board had been instrumental in generating sustainable employment to a large segment of traditional and prospective artisans and rural and urban unemployed youth in the State so as to help arrest migration of rural youth to urban areas in quest of employment and other income generating activities. He said that the State Government was implementing a number of schemes aimed at assisting economically backward sections of the society in adopting self employing avocations by providing them loan at low rate of interests. He said that it had been the endeavour of the Board to bring together widely dispersed traditional artisans in rural and urban areas, unemployed youth and provide them self-employment opportunities to the optimum. He said that the Board had carried trading activities in wool carding, oil extraction and facilitated finishing of woolen goods to the tribal and non-tribal population and so far 14 wool carding and oil extraction centres and finishing plants had been established in the State.
Prof. Dhumal said that the proposals of the beneficiaries after scrutiny were being forwarded to the nationalized Banks for financing upto 90 percent of the project cost to general category and 95 percent in respect of special categories i.e. SC/ST/OBC/Minorities/Women/Physically Handicapped and Ex-Servicemen etc. He said that the Board had been providing margin money @ 25 percent of the sanctioned cost to the beneficiaries of general category and 35 percent in the case of special categories. He said that based upon the formula the Board had assisted 636 beneficiaries during past four years with loan facility of Rs. 35 crore besides disbursing a subsidy of Rs. 9.5 crore to them. He said that there had been 65 percent increase in the sale of Khadi products compared to preceding year. He said that the Board had carried sales worth Rs. 291 lakhs during preceding financial year of 2011-12 compared to Rs. 176 lakh during year 2010-11 which was Rs. 115 lakh less than the income generated during year 2011-12. He said that similarly production had increased by 86 percent and income earned through service centre was 46 percent more while the recovery had also been made more effective by increasing the same by 26 percent.
Chief Minister appealed to the people to take benefit of various schemes being implemented by the Board and find self employment and employment avenues for themselves near to their homes. He appreciated the initiatives taken by the Management of the Board and hoped that with diversified trading activities the Board would be in a position to generate vast income avenues in the near future.
Dr. Lalit Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of HP State Village and Khadi Industries Board, welcomed the Chief Minister and apprised him of the activities and schemes implemented during preceding years. He said that efforts were afoot to motivate traditional artisans in rural areas to find self employment avenues for themselves in their traditional avocations.
