Tool kits given to 64 artisans

NURPUR, MAY 19

Under the Mukhyamantri Swavalamban Yojna (MSY), the Kangra district Industries Centre organized a one-day workshop for handicraft artisans at Bodh near here on Thursday.

Presiding over the workshop, Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania said under the ambitious MSY, the state government had sanctioned loans of over 60 crores to 862 beneficiaries in Kangra district during the past four years. He said the beneficiaries had also availed subsidy to the tune of Rs 25 crore under this yojna.

He said in Nurpur development block, an amount of around Rs 11 crore had been sanctioned during this period and a grant of Rs 1.9 crore provided to them.

The minister said in the projects being run by the Forest Department, multi-faceted works were being undertaken towards women empowerment like the National Rural Livelihood Mission. The minister distributed artisan tool kits to 64 beneficiaries of the area.

“Through JAIKA project on which Rs 150 crore will be spent, new opportunities of self-employment are being created for the people associated with self-help groups in the state,” the minister asserted. He exhorted women to constitute self-help groups in their area so that they could avail benefit of this project.