P.Usainna Parveen, who was a homemaker till five years ago, is a successful entrepreneur now. Thanks to the initiative of the District Industries Centre, she has come a long way in proving herself as an employer.
With a loan assistance from the Central Bank of India here and 25% subsidy from the DIC under the UYEGP (Unemployed Youth Employment Generation Program), she has been giving jobs to women after training them as beauticians.
Sharing her experience with The Hindu, she said the orientation gave her a broad idea on how to run a business. Terms like preparation of project report, break-even, return on investment, profit or loss, payment of mandatory taxes to the Centre and State governments, margin on capital and interest on capital et al, were taught by the experts.
After the assessment by the task force committee, the officials guided her to approach the bank, wherein the field officers ascertained the assets and sanctioned the loan component. Hundreds of educated and unemployed youth in the district are now taking the assistance of the DIC and the public/private sector banks year on year now, she said.
Endorsing her views, Saravanan, who is running a browsing centre in the town, says that the subsidy component from the State government gave a fillip to new entrepreneurs like him as it was sufficient to bring in lesser capital. “The private banks can consider waiver of interest on EMIs during the pandemic as commercial activity has almost come to a standstill or the government can examine enhancing the subsidy,” he suggested.
Offering technical expertise and guidance to the unemployed and educated youth, the District Industries Centre has been successfully building neo-entrepreneurs in manufacturing, business and service sectors. Apart from Theni, youth were establishing their own shops in Bodi, Cumbum and Periakulam in the district, the officials said.
After passing out from an ITI with a diploma or even with a plus-two certificate, many aspirants showed interest in starting their own business and making a living out of it. The district administration planned to offer free counselling to such aspirants, said District Collector M.Pallavi Baldev.
When the assessments of the candidates indicated that they were keen to do business or engage in a manufacturing activity, the officials guided them in preparation of the project report. With the Tamil Nadu government’s innovative scheme, UYEGP, the district had achieved the target 100% last year and stood on top in the State, Ms. Baldev said.
Despite COVID-19 pandemic, the administration, thanks to technology, had reached the applicants through the internet and so far, 58 applications have been received for the current fiscal. “In times of such health emergency, youth are keen to start their own business which only shows that Theni district is setting a new trend among the youngsters to become entrepreneurs and job givers,” said DIC GM L. Ramasubramanian.
Under the UYEGP, the project cost shall be ₹2 lakh and above and the State government offers 25% subsidy. The district had given loans for two-wheeler servicing workshops, manufacturing eco-friendly plates, embroidery units, beauty parlour, oil and automobile spare parts shops and among others. Though for every sector, the aspirants would have to undergo seven-day training and district task force committee held interviews, they were temporarily suspended due to the pandemic.
