Sidbi announced a plan to promote micro enterprises in 115 aspirational districts across the country. It has, for this purpose, tied up with Common Service Centre (CSC). According to Mohammed Mustafa, chairman, the bank has decided to focus on 115 aspirational districts to run micro enterprises promotion program (MEPP), which will be run with the help of CSC. The ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ program, which was launched by the prime minister in January, aims to bring about socio-developmental changes in these backward districts which have been chosen from all states of the country. District Magistrates of these areas have been made ‘prabhari’ officers, who will implement the parameters under the program. They will be assisted in this task by additional secretaries of central ministries in the national capital. The objective of the MEPP is to promote potential rural entrepreneurs by hand-holding them and facilitate financial tie-up with the formal banking sector. CSCs, one of the crucial enablers of the Digital India program, are the access points for delivery of various e-governance and business services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country.
