Rs. 115 crore to self-help groups

Dharmapuri: The banks in the district have decided to lend Rs. 115 crore to self-help groups during the current year.An amount of Rs. 100.30 crore was disbursed during the previous year, said Collector Pankaj Kumar Bansal at the district-level bankers committee meeting here on Saturday.Bank deposits in Dharmapuri district had touched Rs. 558.34 crore as against Rs. 115.41 crore the previous year, an increase of 124 per cent.The district administration would disburse revolving funds to SHGs under the Swarna Jayanthi Grama Rozgar Yojana in the current fiscal.

Loan assistance to the tune of Rs. 197.54 lakh was disbursed to 480 youths to start small enterprises under the Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY).The district administration had fixed a target of 520 youths under PMRY scheme in the current fiscal, the Collector said.Loans would be sanctioned for the selected youth for starting self-employment ventures such as sale of Aavin milk products, DTP and internet centres, STD booth, electrical and electronic items sales and service, cell phone service, automobile service centre, vulcanising and welding works, powerlooms, silk reeling, mini flour mill, water repair and other viable projects.Beneficiaries selected under the above scheme would be given training before disbursement of the loan.

An amount of Rs. 1 lakh would be sanctioned to candidates for starting business and Rs. 2 lakh for starting service/industrial activity.The family income ceiling under the PMRY scheme had been enhanced from Rs. 24,000 per annum to Rs. 40,000 per annum. The selection of candidates would be conducted in all the block headquarters in the district Mr. Bansal added.