Entrepreneurship is a key skill that needs to be honed and mastered through due training and practice. The central government has acknowledged that just making schemes like “Make in India” will not suffice to put India on the pedestal of developed economies. To truly enable India to grow into an economic superpower, there should be sufficient entrepreneurs who know how to run businesses efficiently. To encourage more entrepreneurs, the Central government has initiated the PM Udyam Mitra for Excellence in the Entrepreneurship Development Scheme.

What would this scheme accomplish?

The scheme aims to provide skill training in entrepreneurship to 3 lakh youths to become entrepreneurs till 2025-26.

The PM Umeed scheme is meant to facilitate loans to youths and to connect them to appropriate markets where their skills will outshine and their profits will benefit them and the several employees who work in the enterprise. This scheme will essentially handhold entrepreneurs from the poorer sects of the economic spectrum to elevate their condition and carve out some influx of money for themselves as well, especially in a post-pandemic world where jobs are rare and incomes are sporadic.

Features of the scheme

The PM Umeed scheme will be a demand driven scheme and the states will have to pitch in to identify potential entrepreneurs and ventures that would require financial support and imparting of skills. The support extended by the PM Umeed scheme will be for 18 months after completion of a 2-month entrepreneurship development training.

The scheme Draft in the pipeline

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has prepared a draft of the PM Umeed scheme. Currently, the PM Udyam Mitra Excellence in Entrepreneurship development is being discussed in the midst of several stakeholders who might have a say in the whole implementation. The New PM Umeed scheme would soon be finalised with revised plans and revised financing.

Once the cabinet approves the scheme, there will be a steering committee which will be set up for the layout of the policy direction and operational guidelines. There will be an executive committee set up which would be responsible for overseeing the functioning of the scheme and for approving related proposals. There will be a draft which will be circulated among the concerned ministries and one round of discussions have already happened in November 2020.

The scheme currently is at the last few stages of planning and should soon be out there to help out entrepreneurs to carve out a niche for themselves on national and even international levels.

Summing it up

Entrepreneurship is an excellent avenue as it not only benefits an individual, but it helps create employment opportunities for several more. Times like these demand for entrepreneurs to step up to the occasion and create more jobs for people. The nation has been confronted by really difficult times and with such schemes in place, there sure will be a clearer pathway for millions to follow, lead and innovate, putting India back on progressive strides towards a Developed economy.