New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS): The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), under the MSME ministry, and the monitoring cell for the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) Friday inked an agreement for generating employment opportunities by setting up micro-enterprises in the country's rural and urban areas.

"The ministry of MSME through KVIC is implementing the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) for generating employment opportunities through setting up of micro-enterprises in rural and urban areas of the country," an official statement said.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by B.H. Anil Kumar, chief executive officer and commissioner for KVIC, and K.N. Janardhana, chief project coordinator for the monitoring cell for RSETIs.

Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra was also present on the occasion.

Around 2.9 lakh micro-enterprises have been set up so far providing employment opportunities to 25.93 lakh people.

The scheme has received encouraging response from all stakeholders like unemployed youth, banks and implementing agencies.

"It has been observed that applications from unemployed youth received are far in excess of the target every year which reflects the popularity of the scheme," it said.