Shillong, October 9: The Government of Meghalaya in collaboration with the Government of India and State Level Bankers Committee, Meghalaya conducted the MUDRA Promotion Campaign today at U Soso Tham Auditorium, Shillong. Union Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre graced the programme as the Chief Guest and Meghalaya Taxation Minister, Shri Zenith M. Sangma as the Guest of Honour.
Addressing the gathering as Chief Guest, Union Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre said that Mudra and Stand-Up India scheme will bring about a massive transformation to the youth of the nation. He informed that the scheme was launched by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on 8th April, 2015 to ‘fund the unfunded’ by bringing enterprises to the formal financial system and extending affordable credit to the entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.The Union MoS also requested the people of the State to opt for digital payments in their day to day transactions to make the State and the country a cashless society.
Meghalaya Taxation Minister, Shri Zenith M. Sangma informed the gathering that there are 36 banking institutions functioning in the State, out of which 21 are Public Sector Banks, 10 are Private Banks, 1 Rural Bank and 4 Cooperative Banks and about 395 bank branches in the State with 51% coverage in rural areas where only about 20% of the rural areas have access to ATMs. Shri Sangma said that lack of awareness about the financial support system, unavailability of banking facilities and financial assistance in the rural areas, people are often forced to borrow from other sources for financial support which limits their higher borrowing capacity and hence the gap in financial inclusion. He said that the scheme will not only ensure greater connectivity, but will also bridge the financial inclusion gaps and provide a better social security cover for the people.
During the programme, the Union MoS for Defence, Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre alongwith Meghalaya Taxation Minister, Shri Zenith M. Sangma distributed token loans to the beneficiaries and also visited the stalls put up at the venue by different financial institutions.
Dr Subhash Bhamre spoke to the large audience present for the event, he brought out the salient aspects of the Prime Ministers Mudra Yojna (PMMU) the flagship scheme of Indian Government, which aims to provide formal access of financial facilities to the small businesses thereby creating more self-employment opportunities.
He flagged the fact that since the launch of the scheme on 08 April 2015, 9.13 crore loans have been sanctioned under PMMY. The total amount sanctioned is Rs. 3.96 lakh crores. Out of 9.13 crores loans, loans to women constitute 6.89 crores (76%), SC/ST/OBC constitute 5.07 crores (55%). With this, self-employment has been generated and some of the entrepreneurs have also created the job opportunities.
The Minister also said that the Government of India has launched National Digital Payment Mission (NDPM) to encourage digital payment. NPCI is assisting in this regard by way of providing the digital payments modes like UPI, USSD, IMPS, Aadhaar Pay and RuPay Debit Cards. Digital payment mode is very easy and safe. He exhorted all to adopt the digital payment method for making payments and asked all to all unite and pledge to make India a digitally enabled Society.
It is pertinent to note that the Government of India looks at the North East region of the country with its tremendous potential for growth and contribution towards the Act East initiative, ushering a new era of peace and prosperity for the region coupled with carving the rightful space for India as a economic super power.
