Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has credited Rs 395 crores to 3.95 lakh beneficiaries under Jagananna Thodu scheme here on Wednesday besides an interest component of Rs 15.96 crore. The scheme provides Rs 10,000 each to small and petty traders, vendors and artisans and so far the State has provided Rs 2,011 crores to 15,03,558 families under the scheme to promote self-employment.
The small and petty traders and vendors who sell their goods and ware on the pavements, tiny shops and push carts also generate employment and become part of social empowerment.
The Chief Minister said that he had seen the plight of such petty traders, who were exploited by money lenders and middlemen besides artisans and the Jagananna Thodu scheme had thus evolved and we have kept our promise by paying Rs 10,000 each. The State has been providing loans to over 5.08 lakh, other state governments in the country have been providing such benefits to 15.03 lakh families which show the scale and size of concern we have towards social and economic empowerment, he said.
For those who repay loans on time, the State has been taking the interest burden and Rs 48.48 crore has been reimbursed to 12.50 lakh families. As part of this, Rs 15.96 crores is being reimbursed now. The list has 3.95 lakh new beneficiaries to whom an amount of 395 crore loans is being given.
Drawing a comparison with the previous government, the Chief Minister said, such welfare was never thought of by the previous dispensation and it never thought of people who were engaged in small and petty trade selling coffee, tea, eateries, vegetables, fruits in various modes. They also did not focus on artisans and traditional craftsmen. The previous government and its friendly media had a feudal mind-set looking after their own interest.
The budget remains the same then and now the only difference is the change of Chief Minister. Why schemes are reaching the poor now means, there are no middle men and it is being credited directly into the bank accounts shunting out the role of middlemen and corruption, he said.
