Parul
From 2014 to 2018, 18 lakh entrepreneurs availed loans under the credit guarantee scheme, as against only 11 lakh entrepreneurs in the period 2010–2014, and two lakh entrepreneurs benefited from the Prime Minister’s Employment Guarantee Programme in the period 2014–2018, taking the overall number to 20 lakh.
The minister also said that the existing MSMEs employed at least seven crore people while enterprises set up by new entrepreneurs have generated three crore jobs.
These statistics contradict the National Survey Sample Office (NSSO) survey that was based on data collected between July 2017 and June 2018 and is the first official survey post-demonetisation. The survey also said that unemployment was higher in urban areas at 7.8 per cent as compared to 5.3 per cent in rural areas of the country. In the past, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) had stated that 1.5 million jobs were lost just in the first four months of 2017, immediately after demonetisation of old 500 and 1000 rupee notes.
