Entrepreneurship Development Programme for upliftment of transgender persons
The Government of India is committed to the upliftment and welfare of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups of society, including transgender persons. To ensure rehabilitation of transgender persons, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) scheme, sub-scheme ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons’.
One of the components of the scheme is to make transgender persons self-reliant by granting them economic empowerment in the form of self-employment. In the same line of same a 15-day Entrepreneurship Development Programme was inaugurated yesterday, on 21st August 2025, at Garima Greh (shelter home for transgender persons) at Dabri, Delhi, which is operated by Mitr Trust. The training programme is sponsored by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment under the MILE(TG) scheme and is being implemented by the National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).
A total of 25 transgender candidates will be trained during this programme. It has been planned to organise 18 such programmes countrywide, on a pilot basis, to train 1800 transgender persons. The training programme will include sessions on Business Opportunity Identification, market survey, entrepreneurship support ecosystem, financial aid support schemes for startups, entrepreneurial accounting and taxation, procedure and formalities for bank, regulatory compliances, etc.
A field visit to the incubation centre of the National Small Industries Corporation(NSIC) has also been planned during the training. The trainees will prepare a business plan by the end of the training session, and they will be connected with the Banks for financial support to set up their enterprise. They will further be provided with handholding support for the next 6 months to track and monitor the sustenance of their enterprise.
It was informed during the inauguration that, at the request of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Reserve Bank of India has included the transgender community in the “priority sector lending” category, making it easier for transgender persons to access financial support from banks for self-employment purposes. The transgender trainees were quite enthusiastic while welcoming this step of welfare and promised to take entrepreneurship as a career to contribute to the achievement of Viksit Bharat.
Officials of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt of India, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, National Institute of Social Defence, operatives of Garima Greh Delhi were present during the inauguration of the training.
Disclaimer: This is an official press release by Pib.
