Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)

Syllabus: GS2/Welfare Schemes and Governance; GS3/Inclusive Growth

Context

• Recently, the government highlighted the increasing impact of the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) that has assisted more than 4.32 lakh rural firms and improved rural lives through community-led entrepreneurship under DAY-NRLM.

About Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)

• It was launched in 2016 as a sub-scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• Objectives:
  • To promote non-farm rural enterprises.
  • To generate self-employment and sustainable livelihoods.
  • To empower first generation entrepreneurs, especially women and marginalised populations.
  • To diversify sources of income in rural areas to lessen dependence on agriculture.
  • To create community-based enterprises that create strong local economies.
• Key Features:
  • Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) funding.
  • Business planning, skills development, coaching and enterprise management support.
  • Convergence with government plans and credit facilitation through banks.
  • Digital tools for business planning, credit evaluation and corporate monitoring.
  • Community-based decision-making in the selection and funding of enterprises.

Institutional Framework of SVEP

• National Level: Implemented under DAY-NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development.
• State Level: Executed through State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs).
• Block Level: Block Resource Centres–Enterprise Promotion (BRC-EPs) coordinate implementation.
  • Provision of ₹6.50 crore per block.
  • Average investment of ₹27,083 per enterprise.
• Community Level: Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EPs) Community Resource Persons provide business mentoring, enterprise planning, loan facilitation and market connection help.
  • Each CRP-EP provides mentorship to up to 50 firms.
• Role of Self Help Groups (SHGs): Identify suitable entrepreneurs; handle the Community Enterprise Fund loans; assess enterprise performance; and give ongoing hand holding support.

Inclusive Design of the Programme

• Women-Centric Approach: At least 60% of the beneficiaries are women; At least 60% of CRP-EPs are women; Around 90% of CRP-EPs are recruited from SHG households.
• Focus on Vulnerable Sections: Priority to SC/ST communities, minorities, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), poor rural households and individuals with little educational attainment.
• Community Ownership: Enterprises are selected based on poverty status, local needs, entrepreneurial potential and enterprise viability assessment.

Achievements of SVEP

• Enterprise Development: Supported over 4.32 lakh rural enterprises.
  • Highest implementation in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
• Impact Assessment (Quality Council of India): Major findings include:
  • 99% enterprises were profitable.
  • Enterprises contributed 57% of household income.
  • Average monthly revenue from enterprise: ₹39,000
  • Manufacturing businesses earned about ₹47,800 a month.
  • 96% of entrepreneurs said they saw an increase in savings.
  • 75% of firms were women-owned or managed.
• Socio-Economic Outcomes: Greater financial inclusion, higher household incomes, better nutrition, education, sanitation and health, greater confidence and social standing of women and support for first generation rural entrepreneurs.

Case Study: Success Stories

• Bhagyashri Londhe, Maharashtra: Expanded her food processing business with the help of an SVEP loan of ₹45,000.
  • Earned ₹5 lakh within 10 days at Mahalaxmi Saras.
  • Created employment for rural women.
• Poonam (Uttar Pradesh): Became a certified CRP-EP; mentored around 40 enterprises; and facilitated credit, business planning, and market access.

Other Rural Development Programmes

• DAY-NRLM: Women’s SHGs and livelihood promotion. It has constructed a strong institutional framework on which the success of SVEP is built.
  • Key Highlights:
    • Organises rural poor households into Self Help Groups (SHGs).
    • Mainly targeting women’s economic empowerment.
    • Promotes financial inclusion, skill development and diversification of income sources.
• PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Support to micro food processing enterprises
• PMEGP: Credit Linked Employment Generation
• MUDRA Yojana: Collateral free loans to smaller enterprises
• Stand-Up India: Women and SC/ST entrepreneurship
• SFURTI: Up-gradation of Traditional Industries and Clusters
• National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP): Development of enterprise through SHGs

Related Challenges

• Limited market access: Rural firms have long faced challenges in areas like branding, packaging and marketing.
• Credit Constraints: Reliance on community donations and no access to official credit.
• Limited digital literacy: Low technology adoption Low technology adoption.
• Infrastructure Gaps: Lack of logistics, storage, transport and internet connectivity.
• Capacity Constraints: Continuous skill upgradation is a necessity for enterprise survival.
• Regional Imbalances: Concentrated in few states, many regions still under-covered.
• Growth Hurdles: Small businesses can grow only in local markets.

Way Forward

• Boost rural start-up ecosystem: Set up incubation centres and innovation hubs in remote regions.
• Strengthen Market Linkages: Promote e-commerce platforms such as GeM, ONDC, digital marketplaces.
• Enhance Access to Finance: Expand credit guarantee schemes and link with MUDRA and Stand-Up India.
• Technology Adoption: Promote digital bookkeeping, UPI payments, AI-enabled market intelligence and e-commerce.
• Skill Development: Provide sector specific entrepreneurial training through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs)
• Cluster-Based Development: Develop producer collectives and value chains to strengthen competitiveness.
• Robust Monitoring: Enhance MIS-based monitoring and impact evaluation to support evidence-based policy adjustments.

Source: PIB