NIESBUD Join Hands with Ministry of Rural Development for Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme

National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) — an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to develop a sustainable model for promoting entrepreneurship at the grass roots by initiating the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP).

SVEP is a sub-component of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development. It aims to support entrepreneurs in rural areas to set-up enterprises at the village-level in non-agricultural sectors. The partnership will enable the rural community by helping them set up their trades and provide complete support till they are stabilized. This pragmatic intervention will provide knowledge, advisory and financial support to the public and will help create village-level community cadre.

Under the partnership rural entrepreneurs will be able to access banking systems for receiving financial support for starting their enterprises, including support from MUDRA bank. Integrated ICT techniques and tools will also be provided for training and capacity building along with enterprise advisory services to augment the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India’s villages. The beneficiaries of the project are from the Self-Help Group (SHG) ecosystem of DAY-NRLM and the scheme not only supports existing enterprises but new enterprises as well.

On the partnership, Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entreprenuership said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has highlighted that Indians should dream of becoming job creators from job seekers and in this regard, SVEP will help create an innovative ecosystem, accelerating economic and social gains at the community level. He informed that the scheme also aims at building an inclusive society by providing equal opportunities to all along with the required financial support. Shri Aggarwal highlighted that India is a land of opportunities and by helping our youth access these prospects, we are catering to their aspirations. He expressed his confidence that this partnership will help in training the rural community and will provide them with necessary resources for entrepreneurship to increase their income and will pave the way for building Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Shri Aggarwal stressed that rural entrepreneurship can play a significant role in the overall economic development of India and a huge number of employment opportunities can be generated because of the rural entrepreneurship for the people who are living in rural or remote geographies. The old-age artistic heritage has also been conserved by protecting as well as promoting the rural entrepreneurship, he added. He informed that from past few years, Skill India has been working persistently to bridge the skill gap by giving entrepreneurs easy access to funding, providing the right mentorship, and improving ease of doing business in the country.