BHUBANESWAR: The rollout of the proposed ‘Udyami Yojana’, announced in the state budget this fiscal to promote 6,000 nano entrepreneurs in rural Odisha, has hit a roadblock with the Finance department seeking clarification from Skill Development and Technical Education department on whether there was duplication of efforts and why the same was not being implemented by the MSME department that primarily deals with the sector.
With the deadline of the existing Nano Unicorn scheme, intended at supporting around 1,200 nano unicorns (mini-sized businesses), especially in rural belts of Odisha, being 2025-26, the state government had announced to roll out a new scheme Udyami Yojana to promote nano entrepreneurs at the grassroots.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had in his budget speech in February said a provision of `40 crore had been earmarked for the next two years under the proposed scheme for promotion of 6,000 nano entrepreneurs. Majhi had stated that the scheme will offer structured entrepreneurship development programmes, and appropriate linkages to avail formal credit, mentoring and handholding support to enable sustainable enterprise creation in the state.
However, the Finance department has reportedly sought to know from the SDTE department as to why the scheme was not being implemented by the MSME department.
Sources said the Finance department has observed that there could be duplication of efforts by MSME and SDTE departments as ‘both are almost engaged in the same activity’, though it is the MSME department that should ideally implement the scheme and in turn seek assistance from the SDTE department for skill development.
The department has asked the SDTE authorities to furnish the views of the MSME department in the matter. It has also sought the physical and financial targets achieved in the previous Nano Unicorn scheme implemented by the SDTE department through the Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) and other partners in collaboration.
The Finance department sought details regarding the disbursement of seed funding in which a refundable seed loan up to `1 lakh was being given to beneficiaries to start their business ventures. The loan amount was repayable over a maximum period of 36 months, starting from the second year.
Sources said the SDTE authorities in their earlier compliance to the Finance department had stated that Udyami Yojana was envisaged as a targeted grassroots entrepreneurship promotion programme focused on identifying, nurturing, financing, mentoring and providing market linking and sustaining first-generation entrepreneurs, especially the Skilled-in-Odisha youth from rural and underserved regions of the state.
Unlike existing entrepreneurship promotion initiatives, the proposed Udyami Yojana adopts an end-to-end implementation framework covering entire entrepreneurial life-cycle from beneficiary mobilisation and entrepreneurship development programme (EDP) to enterprise establishment, credit linkage, market access and post establishment handholding.