Here is your chance to be ‘atmanirbhar’

State govt provides Rs 1 lakh loan with 2% annual interest to small businessmen, skilled workers, auto drivers, electricians and barbers, among others

Following in the footsteps of the central government, the State government on Thursday announced an assistance of Rs 1 lakh loan for small businesses and people in the lower middle income group who can avail of the guarantee-free loan.

This is to ensure that people whose lives have been disrupted by the Covid-19-induced lockdown can return to normal living. The loan will be provided at an interest rate of 8 per cent interest, of which 6 per cent will be borne by the State government and the person availing the loan will effectively have to pay only 2 per cent annual interest.

As Gujarat moves towards relaxing the lockdown with social distancing norms, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna (AGSY) to help boost small trades like barber, laundry fellow and those who drive auto-rickshaws. The tenure of the loan under the scheme will be three years, while payment of instalments will begin only after six months of disbursal.

The CM made the announcement in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja, claiming that it will benefit about 10 lakh Gujaratis involved in small businesses like laundry, barber, electrician and small grocery shops.

The loan of up to Rs 1 lakh through cooperative banks, district banks and credit cooperative societies will be available at only 2 per cent interest rate. This is an attempt to revive the economic activities in the state, as part of efforts to make India a superpower in the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rupani said.

“Other states have declared assistance of Rs 5,000 or so to such people. However, we are of the opinion that such a small amount will not bring their life back to normal,” the CM said.

The AGSY will be implemented in a week. The finer details about the beneficiaries will be shared through advertisements and communication in coming days. Commenting on the scheme, Dilipkumar Thakore, cabinet minister for Labour and Employment told Mirror, “The new schemes by state and central governments will benefit MSMEs and small businesses. It will certainly help in generating more employment, which is our focus at the moment. The loan that the chief minister has announced will also benefit small workers and businesses with 5 to 7 employees to function comfortably.”