The income of EWS category can be increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
According to the news of Times of India, Gujarat government is considering providing relief to lakhs of people of Economically Weaker Section (EWS). If the decision to increase the capping of EWS category is implemented, then a large number of people coming in General category will come into EWS category and all of them will also be able to get the benefits of all the schemes and reservations given by the Gujarat Government.
The state Justice and Empowerment Department has started the process of changing the income limit to expand the scope of various schemes of Gujarat Unreserved Educational and Economic Development Corporation (GUEEDC). In such a situation, it is expected that this scope will increase soon. There was no change in the income limit since the corporation was formed about a decade ago. Now preparations are underway to increase it to Rs 10 lakh annually.
The report says that GUEEDC is also examining how much the income limit should be increased so that more and more people can get the benefit.
What are the rules now?
At present, families with annual income up to Rs 6 lakh are eligible in most of the schemes of GUEEDC. However, in some schemes, applicants with income up to Rs 8 lakh can also avail its benefits. In such a situation, after this new proposed change, families with annual income up to Rs 10 lakh will also be able to avail the benefits of these schemes.
The aim of the government is to provide more facilities to the economically weaker people of the general category like Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). With this, the scope of schemes related to education, employment and financial assistance is expected to increase.
It has also been said in the report that the government is also considering a system of giving collateral-free loans to the people of EWS category. Currently, beneficiaries of SC and ST category get loan without mortgage in some schemes, but such facility is not available in the schemes of GUEEDC. If this proposal is approved, then it will be much easier for the youth of EWS category to take loan for education, employment and self-employment than before.
