New Delhi: In a major step towards realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) signed a crucial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Posts on Tuesday. The agreement, signed at the KVIC office in Rajghat, New Delhi, aims to enhance the efficiency of the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) by leveraging the extensive network of post offices across the country for physical verification of new units.
As part of the MoU, Postal Department employees will conduct physical verification of new PMEGP units being set up across India, ensuring timely and accurate assessment. Additionally, KVIC will train postal employees to streamline this verification process. This collaboration will harness the services of 1,65,000 post offices nationwide, including 139,067 in rural areas, significantly speeding up project verification and margin money subsidy disbursement.
In the presence of KVIC Chairman Manoj Kumar, Joint Secretary MSME Vipul Goyal, CEO KVIC Vatsalya Saxena, and General Manager of the Department of Posts Manisha Bansal Badal, the MoU was signed by Dy. General Manager Dr. Amanpreet Singh from the Postal Department and Dy. CEO PMEGP Rajan Babu from KVIC.
Speaking at the event, KVIC Chairman Manoj Kumar emphasized the importance of cooperative work culture between government departments. “This partnership with the Postal Department will not only enhance the verification process but will also expedite the disbursement of margin money subsidies, fostering faster entrepreneurship growth and employment opportunities under PMEGP,” he stated.
Since its inception, PMEGP has played a pivotal role in promoting entrepreneurship and generating employment across the country. The scheme has supported over 9.69 lakh projects and provided employment for more than 84.64 lakh people. Margin money subsidies worth ₹25,563.44 crore have been distributed through loans amounting to ₹69,021.29 crore. In the last financial year alone, PMEGP generated jobs for over 9.80 lakh entrepreneurs and disbursed subsidies worth more than ₹3,093 crore.
Manoj Kumar further highlighted that Khadi, a symbol of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, has become synonymous with India’s growth. Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, Khadi and Village Industries have seen a five-fold increase in sales and a four-fold rise in production over the last decade, with turnover exceeding ₹1.55 lakh crore for the first time. This remarkable growth has resulted in the creation of over 10.17 lakh new jobs in the sector.