In a unique initiative, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched a scheme for sustainable self-employment of women who lost their loved ones due to Covid-19.

 Amid grief, despair, and livelihood crisis, KVIC has provided nine  women, from Goa, who lost the breadwinners of their families, with financial assistance to set up their own manufacturing units under its flagship scheme Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP). This is for the first time in the country that a government agency is creating livelihood support for the vulnerable people affected by the pandemic.

KVIC Chairman VK Saxena on Monday, distributed cheques worth `1.48 crore to these nine women who will start their own manufacturing units like garment stitching, automotive repair, bakery and cake shops, beauty parlour, herbal and ayurvedic medicines and cashew processing units soon.                

Each of these beneficiaries has been provided loans up to Rs 25 lakh by the Central Bank of India, under the PMEGP Scheme. Also, each of these new units will create employment for at least 8 persons.

The KVIC Chairman said these self-employment initiatives would not only financially sustain these families but also create employment for others. “During the Covid pandemic, KVIC gave a big thrust to local manufacturing and self-employment to sustain families in distress. A large number of youths, women and distressed people from the weaker sections of society were prompted to take up self-employment activities under PMEGP. As a result, these new entrepreneurs will not only sustain themselves financially but they will also support many other families by employing them at their new manufacturing units,” Saxena said.