Guwahati, Sep 23 : In a bid to boost self-employment in Assam, the state government has launched an ambitious 'Atmanirbhar Asom' initiative on Saturday.  An official statement mentioned that under the scheme, financial aid will be given to 2 lakh youth for creating a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. This scheme aims at facilitating self-employment among educated youth, creating an entrepreneur-oriented ecosystem in the state, generating employment via new ventures, financial assistance to individuals to set up or expand existing enterprises, increasing focus on the rural economy etc. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that the scheme has been designed to create self-employment avenues in the state to enable the youth to fuel development of the state. He also said that the latest initiative has the potential to strengthen the rural economy. "The unemployed degree holders in engineering, MBBS, BDS, agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery etc will be kept in the first category and will be given Rs 5 lakh. On the other hand unemployed post graduates, general graduates, ITI, polytechnic pass-outs will be kept in the second category for government assistance of Rs 2 lakh," the Chief Minister said. He also mentioned that in the first category out of Rs 5 lakh, the beneficiaries will have to return Rs 2.5 lakh without any interest and the remaining amount will be government assistance. "Similarly, in the second category, Rs 1 lakh will be government subsidy and remaining Rs 1 lakh will have to be paid back by the beneficiary without any interest," Sarma added. According to him, the targeted sectors will be agriculture and horticulture, stationery, poultry, dairy, goat farming, piggery, fisheries, packaging, readymade garments, fabrication, plantation -- bamboo, rubber, agar etc, wood-based industries etc. One member from one family each shall be eligible for the scheme and the applicant will be registered with the employment exchange. /IANS