Koraput (Odisha), April 4: The administration has provided financial assistance of Rs 5,000 each to 64 beneficiaries under Pinaka, a project to provide livelihood support to visually-challenged persons aged between 18 and 45 years. The project launched on Utkal Diwas on April 1 is designed to identify, counsel and provide financial help to people having over 70 per cent blindness and without any means of livelihood to start their own business, officials said.
The administration is hopeful that beneficiaries would get an assured income round the year by starting their own business, said Koraput Collector Jaya Kumar V. Around 500 people from the district have been identified for the programme started under Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM). The beneficiaries could start their small business either on their own or with the assistance of his or her family member.
The identified beneficiaries are counselled by the block programme officer regarding the projects they want to take up and as a first instalment, the beneficiaries are provided Rs 5,000, the collector said.
“If the beneficiary successfully runs his business then after three months an additional Rs 10,000 will be given to expand it. Also, the administration will facilitate bank loan for those beneficiaries who want to further expand their businesses on a big scale,” he said.
