The interest rate incurred on loans taken by Self Help Groups (SHGs) having an estimated 74,000 women members for starting various businesses had been reduced from 6.5 per cent to barely 3 per cent, according to an official statement issued here on Monday.
This is as per the announcement made by Chief Minister Raman Singh in the State budget for giving a boost to women empowerment initiatives in the State. The announcement had been made effective from April 1 in the current financial year (2013-14). The reduction of interest rate would now enable the SHGs to raise loans easily for starting any business for augmenting the income of the women members.
As a result, each Women SHG can now receive a maximum loan amount of Rs 2 lakhs for starting a business at reduced interest rates.
Principal Secretary , Woman and Child Development Department K D P Rao said that the officers of the Integrated Child development Project who are posted in 146 development blocks from the Department had been made responsible for collecting loan applications from the SHGs and present them to the nearest bank to help them secure loans.
He said that earlier the Women SHGs were being offered the loan facility from the Chhattisgarh Women Corpus at the rate of interest of 6.5 per cent. However, now the SHGs would be able to receive loans at barely three per cent interest rate from commercial, co-operative and other commercial banks including the Chhattisgarh Women Corpus at three per cent rate of interest.
It may be mentioned that the Chief Minister had made the announcement of the reduction of the rate of interest in his budget speech for year 2013-14 in the State Assembly on February 23, 2013.
This apart, the interest rate on loans offered by various banks to the SHGs would also be available at the rate of three per cent which would be reimbursed by the State government to the banks. The difference of the prevailing interest rates of the banks and the three per cent interest rate on loans of SHGs would be paid to the banks by the State government in the form of a grant.
CM Raman Singh would provide detailed information on the reduction of interest rate on loans to SHGs at the collectors conference being held tomorrow at the Mantralaya in Naya Raipur, said in a statement.