Finance ministry pushes public sector banks to expedite loans for weavers

Handloom organizations also benefit from an interest subvention, receiving loans at a concessional interest rate of 6 per cent for three years

The finance ministry has directed public sector banks (PSBs) to ensure prompt sanctioning and disbursement of loans to eligible handloom beneficiaries to boost credit assistance to players via term loans as well as working capital needs.

 

“PSBs have also been directed to submit claims for margin money, interest subvention, and credit guarantee fees through the Handloom Weaver Mudra Portal. To facilitate access and streamline processes, a centralised portal has been developed in collaboration with Punjab National Bank,” said a senior government official.

 

A component of the National Handloom Development Programme, the concessional credit scheme for weavers under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) aims to provide credit assistance to the handloom sector.

 

Under this initiative, margin money (down payment) support by the government is offered at 20 per cent of the loan amount, up to ₹25,000 for individual weavers or weaver entrepreneurs and up to ₹20 lakh for handloom organisations (calculated at ₹2 lakh for every 100 weavers/workers).

 

In the context of this scheme, margin money is the amount subsidised or provided upfront by the government on behalf of the borrower, reducing the total loan burden.

 

Handloom organisations also benefit from an interest subvention, receiving loans at a concessional interest rate of 6 per cent for three years. The interest rate is capped at 7 per cent, and the credit guarantee fee is covered for them for a period of three years.

The latest data on the scheme indicates a fluctuating trend in the number of beneficiaries but a steady increase in the total loan amount. In 2020-21, 8,456 loans were sanctioned amounting to ₹47.38 crore, which rose to 9,526 loans and ₹56.89 crore in 2021-22. However, the number of loans declined to 7,789 in 2022-23, before increasing to 7,913 in 2023-24.

 

Despite these variations in loan count, the total loan amount continued to grow, reaching ₹58.73 crore in 2023-24.

 

Minister of State for Textiles, Pabitra Margherita, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha in March, said that steps have been taken to onboard weavers and artisans on the Government e-Market (GeM) place. This would enable them to sell their products directly to various government departments and organisations. So far, about 150,000 weavers have been onboarded on the GeM portal.

 

“Weavers are facilitated to sell their products online through the ‘Indian handmade’ portal and 23 e-commerce platforms have been associated with the Ministry of Textiles under a policy framework,” said Margherita.