What is the Yogi government's 'CM Yuva Yojana'? Which youth receive interest-free loans under it?

The Yogi Adityanath government's scheme in Uttar Pradesh is known as the Chief Minister's Youth Entrepreneur Development Campaign (CM Yuva Yojana). This scheme provides financial assistance to young people to start their own businesses.

Amid rising unemployment and limited job opportunities in the country, the central and state governments are implementing several schemes to encourage youth to pursue self-employment. Especially for those who want to start their own businesses instead of looking for jobs, the government is providing financial assistance and training. The Uttar Pradesh government has also launched a special scheme aimed at empowering youth to become self-reliant, providing interest-free and guaranteed loans for starting businesses.

This scheme of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is known as the Chief Minister's Youth Entrepreneur Development Campaign (CM Yuva Yojana). This scheme provides financial assistance to young people to start their own businesses, enabling them to establish their own businesses and become capable of providing employment to others. The government had set a target of providing loans to approximately 150,000 youth under this scheme for the financial year 2025-26.

The CM Yuva Yojana is a significant scheme of the Uttar Pradesh government, aimed at encouraging youth employment. Under this scheme, youth are provided interest-free and guarantee-free loans to start their own businesses. Under the scheme, youth can start their own businesses with a project cost of up to ₹5 lakh.

The scheme aims to connect 10 lakh youth with self-employment over the next 10 years. This means that approximately 100,000 youth are targeted to be employed through this scheme every year. The government also provides necessary training and guidance to beneficiaries so that they can run their businesses successfully.

The CM Yuva Yojana is implemented in two phases. In the first phase, projects up to ₹5 lakh are approved. This provides an interest-free and guarantee-free loan of approximately ₹4.5 lakh. This loan is repaid with a six-month repayment period.

After successfully repaying the first phase of the loan, approval for a project cost of up to ₹10 lakh can be obtained in the second phase. This phase offers a larger loan amount and offers an interest subsidy of up to 50 percent.

Only youth who are residents of Uttar Pradesh and between the ages of 21 and 40 are eligible to apply for this scheme. The minimum educational qualification required is at least an eighth-grade pass. Applicants must also possess a skill training certificate, diploma, or degree from a recognized institution, or have received training under government training schemes such as the Vishwakarma Shramik Samman Yojana, ODOP Training, or the UP Skill Development Scheme.

Under the scheme, beneficiaries are required to contribute a portion of their own investment based on their category. General category individuals contribute 15%, OBCs 12.5%, and SC/ST and differently-abled individuals 10%.