Nearly 1 Lakh Entrepreneurs Covered Under CMAAA: Bimal Borah

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Assam Industries, Commerce & Public Enterprises Minister Bimal Borah on Friday said that the Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan (CMAAA) has emerged as one of the state’s flagship entrepreneurship promotion schemes, with 99,971 beneficiaries covered under its first two phases.

Addressing the media, Borah said the scheme, launched on September 23, 2023, aims to promote self-employment, encourage entrepreneurship and create sustainable livelihood opportunities across Assam through financial assistance, Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training and continuous handholding support.

Under CMAAA 1.0, a total of 25,277 beneficiaries were covered, including 25,056 under the General Category and 221 under the Professional Category. All beneficiaries received the first tranche of financial assistance.

The minister informed that 12,976 beneficiaries have already been sanctioned and disbursed the second tranche in the form of an interest-free loan based on their performance and eligibility. The remaining 12,313 beneficiaries will be evaluated in phases, with eligibility assessed on parameters such as financial performance, record keeping, employment generation and productivity.

Highlighting the progress of CMAAA 2.0, Borah said 74,694 beneficiaries have received the first tranche of financial assistance. This includes 74,144 General Category beneficiaries, 206 Professional Category beneficiaries, and 344 OBB teachers, each of whom has received a one-time financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh.

He said Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training is currently underway in all districts for all CMAAA 2.0 beneficiaries and is scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2026. As per the scheme guidelines, 75% of the approved assistance has already been released, while the remaining 25% will be disbursed after successful completion of the EDP training.

Borah also stressed the importance of linking entrepreneurs with institutional finance. He said 1,325 beneficiaries have applied for loans under government-sponsored credit-linked schemes such as PMEGP, PMFME and PM MUDRA, of whom 329 beneficiaries have already availed institutional finance.

The minister directed banks to accord the highest priority to the initiative and ensure close coordination so that beneficiaries can expand their businesses, generate employment and become sustainable entrepreneurs.

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