Lok Sabha Question No. 4516 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme
Ministry: MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Asked by: Shri Sribharat Mathukumilli

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4516 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2026

## PRIME MINISTER'S EMPLOYMENT GENERATION PROGRAMME

## 4516.  SHRI SRIBHARAT MATHUKUMILLI:

Will the Minister of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of micro enterprises established and the employment generated therefrom under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) during the last three years,  year-wise and State-wise;
- (b) the measures undertaken by the Government, in coordination with banks and other stakeholders, to expand awareness and participation in PMEGP through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  interest  rates,  margin  requirements  and  lending practices  being  followed  by  banks  under  PMEGP,  in  view  of  variations  across  institutions  and  the repayment capacity of first generation entrepreneurs;
- (d) if  so,  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  promote  greater  consistency  and  transparency  in  lending terms and to strengthen credit access under the Scheme; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to leverage advanced Artificial intelligence- enabled systems on the PMEGP portal to improve application processing under the scheme and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

- (a): State-wise  and  year-wise number  of  micro  enterprises  established  and  estimated  employment generated under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) during the last three years i.e. FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25 is given at Annexure I.
- (b): Measures undertaken in coordination with banks and implementing agencies to expand awareness and participation  in  PMEGP  through  Rural  Self  Employment Training  Institutes  (RSETIs)  include  the following:
- i. Conducting  Entrepreneurship  Development  Programmes/training  programmes  for  prospective entrepreneurs aimed at developing and improving their managerial, technical, and business skills.
- ii. Awareness  and  outreach  programmes  in  all  the  States/UTs  including  backward  and  underperforming areas, Aspirational districts, North Eastern Region, etc. to identify potential beneficiaries  and  provide  necessary  guidance  and  handholding  support  during  the  application process.
- iii. Conduct of two-days free online Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for prospective entrepreneurs.
- iv. Financial  literacy  camps  and  customer  awareness  programmes  conducted  by  Banks  to  educate prospective entrepreneurs about various initiatives of the Government, including PMEGP.

- v. Acceptance of PMEGP applications from beneficiaries in physical form in 19 regional languages excluding Hindi and English.
- vi. A wide range of more than 1,000 Model of Detailed Project Reports have been prepared on various industries and made available on the PMEGP online portal.
- vii. Providing hand holding and capacity building support to beneficiaries before and after establishment of micro enterprises.

(c): Reserve Bank of India has progressively deregulated the interest rate on advances sanctioned by banks  in  a  calibrated  manner  with  certain  prudential  prescriptions.  The  interest  rates  on  advances  are determined  by  banks  with  the  approval  of  their  Board  of  Directors,  subject  to  the  board  regulatory framework issued in this regard by the RBI. The interest rate on advances depends on several factors such as cost of funds, operating cost, tenor of the advance etc. as also on the creditworthiness of the borrower. Reserve Bank of India has advised the banks to put in place a Board approved loan policy and they shall take credit related decisions as per the said policy, subject to the guiding principles of regulations.

(d): Steps taken to promote consistency and transparency in lending terms and to strengthen credit access under PMEGP include the following:

- i. Enhancement of maximum project cost from Rs. 25 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh for manufacturing sector and from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh for service sector.
- ii. Inclusion  of  applicants  from  Aspirational  districts  and  transgenders  under  Special  Category eligible for higher subsidy.
- iii. As  per  RBI  Master  Directions  on  lending  to  MSMEs,  no  collateral  security  to  be  insisted  by Banks for projects involving loan up to Rs. 20 lakh. Strict compliance of this provision has been reemphasized to all financing Banks.
- iv. Review  of  rejection  reasons  and  removal  of  reasons  i.e.  "Out  of  Service  Area"  and  "Target Achieved" as basis for rejection of PMEGP applications by banks.
- v. Banks have advised their respective branches to ensure time-bound appraisal and disposal of loan applications  under  PMEGP  by  adhering  to  scheme  guidelines  and  following  uniform  credit appraisal procedures in line with the Bank's approved lending policies.
- vi. An online PMEGP portal is in place to facilitate transparency, tracking of applications received and supporting uniformity in the overall processing mechanism.
- vii. Top level Banker's meetings, State Level Bankers Meetings and District level Bankers Meetings held on a regular basis to ensure proper sanctioning of loans and disbursement of margin money.
- viii. Periodical  monitoring  and  review  meetings  by  the  Ministry  with  Implementing  Agencies  i.e. KVIC,  State  offices  of  KVIC,  State  Khadi  and  Village  Industries  Boards  (KVIBs),  District Industries Centers (DICs) and financial institutions.
- ix. State  level  Monitoring  Committee (SLMC) and District Level Monitoring Committee (DLMC) meetings  held  at  State  and  District  levels  on  a  regular  basis  to  monitor  and  review  the implementation of PMEGP.

(e): Introduction of  Advanced  digital technologies, including  Artificial Intelligence, are  being explored  for  integration  into  the  PMEGP  portal  to  streamline  application  processing  and  improve responsiveness, thereby ensuring greater accessibility and transparency for beneficiaries.

*****

## ANNEXURE-I REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4516 FOR ANSWER ON 19.03.2026.

State-wise and year-wise number of micro enterprises established and estimated employment generated under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) during the last three years is given below:

|         |                   | FY 2022-23            | FY 2022-23                     | FY 2023-24            | FY 2023-24                     | FY 2024-25            | FY 2024-25                     |
|---------|-------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------------|
| Sr. No. | State             | No. of Units Assisted | Estimated Employment Generated | No. of Units Assisted | Estimated Employment Generated | No. of Units Assisted | Estimated Employment Generated |
| 1       | Andaman Nicobar   | 121                   | 968                            | 135                   | 1080                           | 61                    | 488                            |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh    | 3073                  | 24584                          | 5577                  | 44616                          | 3249                  | 25992                          |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh | 158                   | 1264                           | 169                   | 1352                           | 156                   | 1248                           |
| 4       | Assam             | 2596                  | 20768                          | 2417                  | 19336                          | 3170                  | 25360                          |
| 5       | Bihar             | 4459                  | 35672                          | 6837                  | 54696                          | 5035                  | 40280                          |
| 6       | Chandigarh        | 15                    | 120                            | 10                    | 80                             | 5                     | 40                             |
| 7       | Chattishgarh      | 2543                  | 20344                          | 2379                  | 19032                          | 1853                  | 14824                          |
| 8       | Delhi             | 72                    | 576                            | 50                    | 400                            | 26                    | 208                            |
| 9       | Goa               | 66                    | 528                            | 68                    | 544                            | 39                    | 312                            |
| 10      | Gujarat*          | 3071                  | 24568                          | 3000                  | 24000                          | 1783                  | 14264                          |
| 11      | Haryana           | 1559                  | 12472                          | 1398                  | 11184                          | 788                   | 6304                           |
| 12      | Himachal Pradesh  | 930                   | 7440                           | 974                   | 7792                           | 796                   | 6368                           |
| 13      | Jammu &Kashmir    | 12023                 | 96184                          | 15065                 | 120520                         | 9863                  | 78904                          |
| 14      | Jharkhand         | 1851                  | 14808                          | 2101                  | 16808                          | 1452                  | 11616                          |
| 15      | Karnataka         | 5618                  | 44944                          | 4672                  | 37376                          | 2839                  | 22712                          |
| 16      | Kerala            | 3129                  | 25032                          | 3389                  | 27112                          | 2260                  | 18080                          |
| 17      | Ladakh            | 91                    | 728                            | 122                   | 976                            | 135                   | 1080                           |
| 18      | Lakshadweep       | 2                     | 16                             | 0                     | 0                              | 0                     | 0                              |
| 19      | Madhya Pradesh    | 5957                  | 47656                          | 5292                  | 42336                          | 2626                  | 21008                          |
| 20      | Maharashtra**     | 3625                  | 29000                          | 2766                  | 22128                          | 1857                  | 14856                          |
| 21      | Manipur           | 545                   | 4360                           | 348                   | 2784                           | 608                   | 4864                           |
| 22      | Meghalaya         | 306                   | 2448                           | 280                   | 2240                           | 1114                  | 8912                           |
| 23      | Mizoram           | 412                   | 3296                           | 401                   | 3208                           | 484                   | 3872                           |
| 24      | Nagaland          | 469                   | 3752                           | 517                   | 4136                           | 1262                  | 10096                          |
| 25      | Odisha            | 3880                  | 31040                          | 2975                  | 23800                          | 1867                  | 14936                          |
| 26      | Puducherry        | 25                    | 200                            | 30                    | 240                            | 38                    | 304                            |
| 27      | Punjab            | 1564                  | 12512                          | 1469                  | 11752                          | 970                   | 7760                           |
| 28      | Rajasthan         | 2037                  | 16296                          | 1678                  | 13424                          | 916                   | 7328                           |
| 29      | Sikkim            | 57                    | 456                            | 132                   | 1056                           | 316                   | 2528                           |
| 30      | Tamil Nadu        | 6140                  | 49120                          | 6814                  | 54512                          | 3949                  | 31592                          |
| 31      | Telangana         | 2540                  | 20320                          | 2503                  | 20024                          | 1850                  | 14800                          |
| 32      | Tripura           | 703                   | 5624                           | 588                   | 4704                           | 730                   | 5840                           |
| 33      | Uttar Pradesh     | 11601                 | 92808                          | 11689                 | 93512                          | 5518                  | 44144                          |
| 34      | Uttarakhand       | 1803                  | 14424                          | 1354                  | 10832                          | 734                   | 5872                           |
| 35      | West Bengal       | 2126                  | 17008                          | 1919                  | 15352                          | 1359                  | 10872                          |
|         | Total             | 85167                 | 681336                         | 89118                 | 712944                         | 59708                 | 477664                         |