Dalit entrepreneurs bloom in Tamil Nadu
CM M K Stalin's initiative facilitates over 1,300 entrepreneurs, including women, to launch successful ventures, driving economic growth
Chennai: The Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme, a brainchild of Chief Minister M K Stalin, has benefitted 1,303 entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, who managed to start new ventures in the short span of time since its launch in last financial year.
Government statistics revealed that the scheme, announced last May as part of programmes launched to achieve Stalin’s ambitious vision of turning the State into a ‘US $ one trillion economy’ by 2030, had helped 288 women start new ventures.
It enabled S Anjali to start a fibre bag manufacturing unit with the help of the District Industries Centre in Sivaganga district. Anjali now employs 10 persons in her fibre bag making unit, whose revenue is Rs 4 lakh a month. Through the venture, she makes a monthly profit of Rs 70,000.
Another entrepreneur, Sathosh Kavin, started a match factory with the help of the Rs 1.96 crore bank loan arranged by the Thoothukudi District Industries Centre. For the loan, he received a subsidy of Rs 60,32,000. Now Kavin has 15 employees in his match factory whose revenue was not Rs 30 lakh a month.
These are just two success stories of the scheme under which the government extends a 35 per cent subsidy on the total capital and also another 6 per cent subsidy on the interest paid by the beneficiary for the remaining 65 per cent capital mobilized through bank loan.
The scheme that is open only for business ventures owned fully by SC/ST community members was allocated Rs 100 crore when it was launched. Then, awareness campaigns were conducted at the village and district levels all over the State to make people know about the scheme and its benefits.
Of the 12,472 applications received online, 7365 were accepted for recommendation for bank loans. After 2136 proposals were cleared for bank loans, the government also arranged training for the beneficiaries on a wide range subjects like financial management, business strategies, maintenance of account books and so on.
The total subsidy that the 1,303 beneficiaries received through the scheme was Rs 159.67 crore and the 288 women beneficiaries received Rs 33.09 crore.