This evaluation assesses the impact of the Government of Tamil Nadu’s Covid Assistance Package (CAP) on intended beneficiaries.
Background
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse impact on various vulnerable sections of society, the Government of Tamil Nadu launched a COVID Assistance Package (CAP) – a rapid response initiative to support the rural economy. The financial support provided by the package has been extended to small scale entrepreneurs, new entrepreneurs/startups, and enterprises in the farm and non-farm sectors.
The Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project (TNRTP) is the implementing authority for this scheme and has commissioned an evaluation to understand the program’s impact thus far.
This evaluation has the following objectives:
- Gauge the level of awareness and understanding of CAP funds among target segments
- Provide estimates of financial distress among the target population and
- Evaluate the impact of the intervention on income and employment parameters among the target populations
Approach
The baseline assessment has been conducted in 30 districts and 120 blocks of Tami Nadu, identified based on the program’s implementation. The sample was drawn from the population of applicants for the CAP fund. Further rounds of data collection will include a midline and endline survey.