Govt urges artisans, weavers to avail subsidized loans under Credit Card Scheme

Srinagar: Reaffirming its commitment to safeguard the interests and welfare of the highly-skilled craftsmen, the Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, on Saturday urged the registered artisans and weavers to apply online for availing the soft loans under its Credit Card Scheme, which offers interest subvention of 7% for a five-year payback period, on a loan of Rs.2.00 lakh.
Nearly 97,000 artisans and weavers have already availed the loan facility to meet their credit requirements of both investment and working capital in a flexible and cost-effective manner. The department has borne an expenditure of Rs.5.62 Cr as interest subvention, payable to the banks and other financial institutions, in a bid to support the artisans and weavers to set up independent units.
Highlighting the main takeaways of the scheme, an official spokesperson from the Handicrafts and Handloom Department, stated that the beneficiary’s contribution against a loan of ₹.2.00 lakh shall only be ₹.20,000 and no collateral security is required to be deposited in the financial institution. “The selection of the beneficiary artisan and weaver is made by a District-level Committee, headed by the concerned General Manager of the District Industries Centre,” he said, adding that the beneficiary shall be issued a Photo Card indicating therein the sanctioned limit and validity period of the credit facility.
Seeking support from the banks and financial institutions in the saturation of artisans and weavers under the subsidized scheme, the spokesman called for real-time sanction and disbursement of the beneficiary cases, after they are sponsored as per targets fixed by the Government.
The spokesman further stated that the Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, monitors the implementation of the Credit Card Scheme and puts on notice those beneficiaries who become NPAs and fail to pay their monthly instalments on time, in coordination with the financial institutions.