Presenting the budget for 2022-23 on Tuesday, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio announced three new schemes, namely the Chief Minister’s Microfinance Initiative, Target Champion Scheme (TACS), and the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme.
To facilitate credit flow to hard-working farmers and young entrepreneurs, Rio said that the Chief Minister’s Micro Finance Initiative will be introduced this year, for which an amount of Rs. 65 crore is earmarked for the scheme.
The scheme is aimed to make credit more affordable and available to individuals, Self Help Groups and Farmer Producer Organisations. To do so, he said that the government will provide for either subsidy or interest subvention against identified activities in the agriculture & allied sector including processing units, handicrafts and small-scale manufacturing units.
Additional interest subvention over and above what is being provided in the existing Central Government schemes will be provided. The scheme will help increase farmers’ incomes, promote credit discipline, encourage private enterprise and improve the agri marketing network and infrastructure in our State.
The selection of the beneficiaries will be through the District Level Selection Committees and wherever required, the Village Councils shall act as the guarantor. The detailed framework of the scheme is to be notified separately.
As a major step towards universal health coverage for all the citizens of Nagaland, Rio announced that government will launch “The Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme” by September this year.
The scheme will provide citizens with hospitalization insurance cover of upto Rs 5 lakh per annum, irrespective of the family income and will provide cashless services for predefined packages covering secondary and tertiary care procedures at empanelled Government or private hospitals, both within and outside the State.
While details of the scheme are to be notified later, it was informed that the scheme will be limited to one person in a family.