Una, May 21- The Chief Minister Madhu Vikas Yojana of the Himachal Pradesh government changed the fate of a youth of Una district. Anubhav Sood of Ambota village started beekeeping with a cost of just one lakh rupees and today he is earning an annual income of 30 lakh rupees and a net profit of about 10 lakh rupees after deducting all expenses. Not only this, he has also given direct employment to 10 other people.
This success of Anubhav is an inspiration not only for him but also for thousands of youths of the state looking for self-employment. In beekeeping, he has launched his products in the market under the name of 'Pahadi Honey', whose various varieties like Black Forest, Black Diamond, Multi Flora, Kesar, Acacia, are now spreading their sweetness even outside the borders of Himachal.

Inspiration from mother, success through hard work
Anubhav says that he got inspiration from his mother Mrs. Nisha Sood, who herself is associated with food processing. Through the Horticulture Department, he received one month training at Nauni University, Solan and 7 days training at Sher-e-Kashmir Agricultural University, Katra. Under the Chief Minister Madhu Vikas Yojana, he started beekeeping with 25 boxes at a cost of only 1 lakh rupees, in which he got 80 percent i.e. 80 thousand subsidy. An income of 48 thousand and savings of 25 thousand in the first year itself encouraged him to move forward. After this, under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Program, he expanded the business by taking a loan of 10 lakh rupees from Canara Bank.

300 boxes, 10 thousand kg honey
Today Anubhav Sood has 300 bee boxes. These produce about 10 thousand kg honey in a year. He has launched his products in the market with the brand 'Pahadi Honey'.

Unique sweetness and certified quality of different varieties of honey
Anubhav says that he migrates the bees to Himachal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan for honey production in different seasons. This technique gives him better quality and variety of honey. This gives him many varieties of honey like Multi Flora, Black Forest, Black Diamond, Acacia, Mustard and Saffron Honey.
All the honey produced by Anubhav Sood is certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, whose price is fixed from Rs 500 to Rs 1200 per kilogram according to the quality and variety. He has duly registered his beekeeping business with the National Bee-Board and has sold more than 300 bee boxes so far at the rate of Rs 4 thousand per unit.
Apart from this, Anubhav Sood is also a certified trainer from the National Academy of Rudseti, Bengaluru and is now also giving practical training and guidance to the youth interested in beekeeping.
He also sells his honey through outlets established in Tattapani and Theog. Along with this, they are also displaying and selling their products in major fairs and exhibitions across the country including Himachal Pradesh, due to which the sweetness of hill honey is now reaching beyond the borders of the state.

What do the officials say
Deputy Director of Horticulture Una Dr. KK Bhardwaj said that the objective of the Chief Minister Madhu Vikas Yojana is to encourage farmers to produce bee products and do beekeeping in the state. He said that apart from honey, many other products can also be prepared in beekeeping. These products also get a good price in the market.
He said that under the Chief Minister Madhu Vikas Yojana, the department provides financial assistance of Rs. 1.60 lakh including 50 boxes of bee species for beekeeping. Along with this, financial assistance of Rs. 10,000 is given for transporting the bees from one place to another. The department also provides 80 percent subsidy or financial assistance of Rs. 16,000 on the purchase of equipment used in beekeeping.
Deputy Commissioner Una, Jatin Lal said that Mukhyamantri Madhu Vikas Yojana is an important self-reliance scheme of the state government. He called upon the youth to join this scheme and start their own self-employment by staying at home. All farmers and gardeners are eligible for this. For this, the Horticulture Department provides free training.