Over 36,900 Jammu Kashmir Entrepreneurs Accessed Rs 2190 Cr PMEGP Bank Loans in Three Years | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: More than 36,900 aspiring entrepreneurs in Jammu and Kashmir have availed bank loans worth over Rs 2,190 crore under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) during the last three financial years, according to data placed before Parliament.

The figures offer a rare, granular view of how central employment-linked credit schemes are shaping the micro-enterprise economy in the Union Territory.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises said Jammu and Kashmir recorded one of the highest PMEGP beneficiary counts in the country. In 2022–23, as many as 12,023 beneficiaries in the UT received bank loan sanctions amounting to Rs 679.38 crore. This rose sharply in 2023–24, when 15,065 beneficiaries were assisted with loans totalling Rs 827.44 crore, before moderating to 9,863 beneficiaries with Rs 691.17 crore in sanctioned loans in 2024–25.

Officials said the consistently high uptake reflects the heavy dependence of Jammu and Kashmir’s rural and semi-urban economy on micro enterprises in sectors such as handicrafts, food processing, retail trade, tourism services and small manufacturing, where PMEGP remains one of the primary gateways to formal bank credit.

The ministry also underlined the programme’s social inclusion dimension. Nationally, women accounted for around 38 to 41 per cent of PMEGP beneficiaries during the last three years, while participation from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rose steadily, particularly in 2024–25. Although state-specific social category break-ups were not provided, the government said nearly half of all PMEGP-assisted units across India are promoted by SC, ST and women entrepreneurs, with around 80 per cent located in rural areas — a pattern that broadly mirrors Jammu and Kashmir’s enterprise profile.

From a policy perspective, the Centre said PMEGP has met its core objectives of employment generation through new micro enterprises. Since the scheme’s inception in 2008–09 up to December 10, 2025, more than 10.71 lakh micro units have been supported nationwide with margin money subsidies of Rs 29,249.43 crore, generating an estimated 87.25 lakh jobs. In Jammu and Kashmir, officials said the programme has become a critical pillar of post-pandemic economic stabilisation, especially in districts with limited industrial depth.

For the current financial year, up to December 10, 2025, the ministry reported that 52,829 micro enterprises across India had already received bank loan sanctions worth Rs 6,255.81 crore under PMEGP, backed by margin money subsidies of Rs 2,083.36 crore. Jammu and Kashmir is expected to remain a significant contributor to these numbers by year-end, given its historical trend of high participation.

Ladakh, though much smaller in absolute terms, has also shown a steady expansion in PMEGP-linked credit. In 2022–23, 91 beneficiaries in Ladakh received loans worth Rs 10.87 crore. This increased to 122 beneficiaries with Rs 16.18 crore in 2023–24 and further to 135 beneficiaries with Rs 18.88 crore in 2024–25. Officials attributed the gradual rise to growing entrepreneurial activity in tourism-linked services, local manufacturing and cold-desert agriculture, even as the overall enterprise base remains limited by geography and population size.

The ministry said it continues to track PMEGP sanctions, bank disbursements and margin money subsidies together to assess real credit flow and employment outcomes, particularly in Union Territories like Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, where micro enterprises are central to livelihood generation and economic resilience.