Lucknow, June 13 (IANS) The Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan (CM-YUVA) is fast emerging as a movement for self-employment across Uttar Pradesh. The ambitious scheme aims to nurture new-age entrepreneurs by providing business enthusiasts monetary assistance as well as entrepreneurial training.

The state government is set to launch a dedicated campaign across universities, colleges and educational institutions to connect with young people and help promote self-employment opportunities. After identifying the ‘suitable’ candidates, the youth will be empowered with financial support of up to Rs 5 lakh to help them become self-reliant entrepreneurs.

A two-day capacity-building workshop was recently held at Niryat Bhawan in Lucknow, focusing on improving the rollout of the scheme and enhancing the functionality of the CM Yuva Portal.

A dedicated campaign will soon be launched across all 75 districts, under which special teams of officials will visit universities, engineering colleges, and other higher educational institutions to identify students in their final year, as well as those who remain unemployed despite completing their studies.

Once identified, eligible youth will be offered interest-free, collateral-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh to help them start their own ventures and become job creators.

According to Sarveshwar Shukla, Joint Commissioner of Industries and nodal officer of the scheme, the primary goal of the Yogi government is to empower every eligible, educated, and progressive-thinking youth by helping them launch their businesses. The vision is to transition youth from “seeking jobs” to “creating jobs.” Along with financial support, technical guidance will also be provided to ensure the success of these entrepreneurial initiatives.

Under this initiative, more than 2.5 lakh youth have already applied for loans, out of which over 1.10 lakh applications have been forwarded to banks, and loans have been sanctioned to over 53,000 applicants, with 40,000 already receiving funds.

A significant number of women, as well as youth from OBC, SC, and minority communities, have participated in the scheme and are now walking the path of self-reliance.

Young entrepreneurs have launched their ventures with the funds in diverse sectors, ranging from cake manufacturing and digital marketing to interior design, laundry services, solar panel installation, tattoo studios, and mineral water plants.

–IANS

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