Meghalaya News

Meghalaya: Budget Emphasizes Job Creation, with a Focus on IT Sector and Women's Self Help Groups

Meghalaya's Finance Minister, Conrad K Sangma, presented a budget focusing on job creation, aiming for 20,000 IT sector jobs and 1 lakh opportunities through Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs).

Sentinel Digital Desk

Published:22nd Feb, 2024 at 2:52 PM

SHILLONG: Conrad K Sangma, Meghalaya's Finance Minister, presented a budget on wednesday with a key focus on creating jobs. The plan is to create 20,000 jobs in the IT sector and an extra 1 lakh jobs through things like Self Help Groups (SHGs). He pointed out that SHGs have really grown in the past five years, and his aim is to build businesses run by women that could be worth 1 billion US Dollars in the next four years.

The Finance Minister wants the budget to prioritize job creation in the IT sector and through projects like SHGs. When he talked about the budget, Sangma said the government is devoted to creating 20,000 jobs in IT, and an additional 1 lakh jobs through things like SHGs.

Over the past five years, SHGs in the state have really grown. The number of people in SHGs went from 60,000 in 2018 to an amazing 4.37 lakh now. Combined, they have over 700 crore rupees. To help these groups, the Finance Minister has set a goal of creating businesses run by women that could be worth 1 billion US dollars in the next four years.

For the 2024-25 fiscal year, 389 crore rupees have been put aside in the budget for the continued support of the SHG program. Sangma said how hard it was to give exact figures on the number of jobs created in the past six years because SHGs have become groups of farmers. Even though there weren't exact numbers in his budget speech, he did say that the government would give realistic numbers as things move along.

Sangma spoke about the advancements in various fields in the last half-decade, covering areas such as SHGs, business development, IT, and goal-oriented projects. He praised the power of teamwork and underlined the government's dedication to spurring economic upliftment and empowerment in Meghalaya.

In a nutshell, Meghalaya's budget signals a tactical emphasis on employment generation, especially in the IT sector and women's circles. The impressive expansion of SHGs, coupled with the bold aim of forming women-owned businesses, reaffirms the state's pledge to stimulate economic growth and empower its citizens in the coming years.