JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved the draft of the Indira Gandhi Urban Credit Card Scheme, 2021 on Monday for providing financial support to street vendors, youngsters employed in the service sector and those looking for self-employment.
There are schemes such as MGNREGA to provide employment opportunities in rural areas, but there is no such scheme for urban areas, an official statement issued here said.
Gehlot had announced in this year's budget that a scheme would be launched to generate employment and self-employment opportunities, and to cater to the daily needs of youngsters in urban areas affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scheme will provide financial support to street vendors, hairdressers, rickshaw-pullers, carpenters, potters, cobblers, masons, tailors, washermen, painters, electricians and plumbers.
The beneficiaries will be given interest-free loans of up to Rs 50,000 without any guarantee.
A total of five lakh beneficiaries living within the limits of urban local bodies will be covered under the scheme, the statement said.
The Department of Local Self Government will implement the scheme in the state.
The moratorium period of the loan is three months and the repayment period 12 months.
The district collectors will be the nodal officers for an effective implementation and a review of the scheme.
In another decision, the chief minister gave relaxations in 38 appointments made on compassionate grounds.
In the last two-and-a-half years, the state government has given relaxations in 875 cases and a total of 3,304 dependents of those who died while serving the government have been given appointments on compassionate grounds, the statement said.