Scheme on Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD) for Women.
Women have been among the most disadvantaged and oppressed section of our country with regard to access to and control over resources. Problems faced by them continue to be grave particularly for illiterate & semi literate women of rural and urban areas In order to alleviate their problems, Govt. of India launched a scheme entitled” Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development” (TREAD) during the 9th plan period which has slightly been modified and is now put in operation. The scheme envisages economic empowerment of such women through trade related training, information and counseling extension activities related to trades, products, services etc.
Objectives –
Experience has revealed that apart ITom counseling and training, delivery of credit poses the most serious problem for the poor women. There is also dearth of information with regard to existing status of women and their common needs for providing necessary support. Since such women are not able to have an easy access to credit, it has been envisaged that the credit will be made available to women applicants through NGOs who would be capable of handling funds in an appropriate manner. These NGOs will n>t only handle the disbursement of such loans needed by women but would also provide them adequate counseling, training and Assistance in developing markets.
Salient Features –
A. Credit to Projects – Government Grant up to 30% of the total project cost as appraised by lending institutions which would finance the remaining 70% as loan Assistance to applicant women, who have no easy access to credit from banks due to their cumbersome procedures and the inability of poor & usually illiterate/semi-literate women to provide adequate security demanded by banks in the fonn of collaterals. GOI Grant and the loan portion from the lending agencies to assist such women shall be routed through eligible NGOs engaged in assisting poor women through any kind of income generating activities in non farm sector. For example, if an NGO submits project(s) for a number of individual or group(s) women say for Rs. 50,000/- each for a group of SO women, then the loan amount required by 50 women would be Rs. 25 lakhs. To it would be added the expenditure that the NGO will make in training / counseling of staff, part expenses on operationalising a management and monitoring system, vehicles, charges for legal documentation, training of loaners, auditors fees charged. Say duly approved by lending institutes, it works out to be Rs. 15 lakhs. Then the total project cost would be Rs. 25 + 15 = 40 lakbs. The GOI grant would be maximum up to Rs. 12 lakhs (30% of Rs. 40 lakhs).
B. Training organizations viz. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Entrepreneurship Development Institutes (EDIs), NISIET and the NGOs conducting training programmes for empowerment of women beneficiaries identified under the scheme would be provided a grant upto maximum limit of Rs. 1.00 lakh per programme provided such institutions also bring their share to the extent of minimum 25% (10% in case of NER) of the Government grant. The batch size for such a training activity will be at least 20 participants. Duration of the training programme will be minimum one month. For example if a mention institution or eligible NGO wants to conduct a pre or post project training programme for a group of women then the maximum GOI grant can be Rs.1.0lakh provided the NGO also raises 25% of the requested grant i.e. the total expenditure of the training expenditure can be up to Rs. 1.25 lakbs for availing full assistance of GOI grant.
C. Institutions such as Entrepreneurship Development Institutes (EDIs), NIMSME, NIESBUD, IIE, MSME-Dls EDIs sponsored by State Govt. and any other suitable. institution of repute will be provided need based Government grant primarily for undertaking activities aiming at empowennent of women such as field surveys, research studies, evaluation studies, designing of training modules, etc. etc. covered under the scheme. The grant shall be limited up to Rs. 5 lakhs per project.
Component B&C for GOI grant is to be approved by AS&DC(MSME) in consultation with AS&F A Ministry of MSME.
Interested institutions will apply for such assistance directly to the MSME-DIs concerned and copy to the Office of DC(MSME) giving all the relevant details in the prescribed format.
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