Aurangabad, Jan 30:
The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India campaign) scheme announced to overcome the Covid-19 crisis has been of great benefit to small businesses. Till date, loans worth Rs 13 crore have been distributed to 1,208 borrowers in the district.
Prime minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package to revive the economy damaged by the covid. This included a loan of Rs 3 lakh crore for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Based on the performance of the companies till February 29, 2020, loans amounting to 20 per cent of the loan amount were being disbursed. The banks have also given loans to over 500 vendors under the prime minister Swanidhi Yojna, which provides unsecured loans of Rs 10,000 for handcarts and peddlers due to corona. Out of this, 30 per cent accounts are NPAs.
Jandhan accounts dormant
Nearly 80 per cent of the Jandhan accounts opened under the zero balance scheme in the district are at present dormant. These accounts are only operated when grants or subsidies are deposited through the government. Bank officials have to frequently conduct a KYC of the account holders to keep the account operational. These accounts are proving a headache for the banks.
Target of Rs 21 crore
The State Bank of India had received a list of 1,664 eligible borrowers. They had a target of disbursing loans of Rs 21 crore. In fact, only 1208 borrowers applied. Loans worth Rs 13 crore was disbursed to these borrowers. Most of them were small businessmen. They were given loans between Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000. The remaining 456 proposals were of small and medium entrepreneurs with loans up to Rs 50 lakh. The companies have not yet started at full capacity. As a result, they do not need a large amount of working capital.