Hundreds of people of the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh recently took a stride towards self-reliance by associating with self-employment activities of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

At a grand event organised in Jhansi on Sunday, Minister of State for MSME Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma distributed electric pottery wheels, bee boxes and Agarbatti making machines to rural artisans of Jhansi district and adjoining areas of the Bundelkhand region.

Jhansi MP Anurag Sharma was also present on the occasion. An awareness programme on the Central Government’s flagship Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) was also inaugurated on the occasion.

The implements distributed by the KVIC included 200 bee boxes, 100 electric pottery wheels and 50 Agarbatti making machines. This will create a cumulative employment for over 600 local persons.

KVIC has also provided training to these beneficiaries for carrying out activities at their doorsteps. Verma lauded the KVIC’s initiatives in the Bundelkhand region and said the machines given to these rural artisans would provide them with a livelihood at their doorstep and with this, there is huge scope of employment creation in Uttar Pradesh, particularly the Bundelkhand region.

The Minister added that the government was committed to expediting job creation by implementing flagship programmes like PMEGP, Honey Mission and Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana in the region.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Saxena said these schemes of the KVIC were aimed at empowering the poorest of the poor. He said Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh was a focus area of the KVIC, where a number of schemes have been implemented to create self-employment for farmers, unemployed youth and women.

During the last three years, KVIC has empowered over 300 potters’ families in Bundelkhand region, creating livelihood for nearly 1,200 persons of the community.

It has also given a big thrust to the PMEGP scheme by setting up nearly 11,000 new manufacturing units in the region and thereby, creating 8,800 direct jobs.

To support these projects, KVIC also disbursed a subsidy of Rs 75 crore. Also, 16 Khadi institutions are currently working in the Bundelkhand region that are engaged in spinning and weaving activities by mostly women artisans.