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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Collateral-free loans offer hope to women -Sidhartha K

Collateral-free loans offer hope to women -Sidhartha K

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published Published on Oct 5, 2015   modified Modified on Oct 5, 2015
-The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Until recently, Rajni, who lives in Tilak Nagar in west Delhi, used to work in a boutique. Now, she has decided to have her own setup, for which she has borrowed Rs 50,000 from Punjab National Bank.

"I haven't decided whether I will take up a place or do it from home," she said.

In Bawana, on the outskirts of Delhi, Kamla has taken a loan from IDBI Bank to buy two buffaloes, while a few kilometres away, Nisha has borrowed to buy books and fund the expansion of her tuition centre where she currently teaches 15 children.

The three are among scores of women across the country tapping into Mudra — the NDA government's newly launched scheme meant to provide collateral-free loans to entrepreneurs. From beauty parlours to boutiques, tuition centres, selling mobile accessories online or even buying a cycle rickshaw for their husband, women have emerged as a prominent section of borrowers tapping into the window through which the government hopes to sanction Rs 1.22 lakh crore by the end of March that will help nearly two crore people finance their ventures.

With the government fixing stiff targets, banks have already sanctioned loans of close to Rs 29,000 crore to over 42 lakh borrowers since April, with Rs 9,000 crore handed out since a campaign was launched a month ago.

While sectoral data is still being collected, bankers said that a majority of the loans are from street vendors, tea stall owners, beauty parlour and boutique owners or for purchasing auto rickshaws or setting up a repair shop. "A large part of the loan is going to people engaged in the service sector, where providing a collateral is an issue," said a PNB executive.

To deal with the problem, the government has already announced a credit guarantee trust that will provide a cover against default to banks. In fact, fearing defaults banks have been reluctant to lend to the 5.77 crore "own account enterprises" such as small shopkeepers, repair shops or tuition centres, prompting them to access informal sources of funding at rates which can be as much as 10% a day.

According to NSSO data, these units on an average employ two people, including the owner, and have fixed assets of Rs 2 lakh. The survey showed that 30% of them are engaged in some manufacturing activity, 34% in services and 36% in trading. Irrespective of their business, accessing funds from the financial system is a problem with the average outstanding loan and interest, estimated at Rs 17,681, with only 8% able to access institutional funds.

The Mudra push has meant that the "own account enterprises" can borrow up to Rs 10 lakh from the window and all that banks are doing is find out if the borrower has some training or experience in the business. "If someone has pursued a course or worked in a beauty parlour, we are immediately sanctioning a loan," said a Bank of India. In addition, banks ensure that the borrower should have a clean record and should not be a loan defaulter. The loan comes with a tenture of five years and six months with the interest rate pegged at 10-12% a year, several times lower than what the moneylenders charge. Plus, there is the option of a Rs 5,000 overdraft through the PM Jan Dhan Yojana.

In addition, banks are devising flexible repayment mechanism with instalments that can be paid on a weekly basis at some of the banks. "From a collection point of view the challenge is to ensure that a street vendor or a repair shop owner can pay the instalment at his doorstep and does not waste time coming to a bank branch. We are working on ways to address this issue and we may rope in collection agents," the PNB executive said.

Suddenly, life has turned a full circle for a large section of the society, which did not have access to banking channels. "Small shop owners or richshaw pullers are suddenly surprised to find bankers looking out for borrowers," admits an IDBI Bank executive.


The Times of India, 5 October, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Collateral-free-loans-offer-hope-to-women/articleshow/49221399.cms


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