Bank of Maharashtra ties up with UNEP

Pune-based Bank of Maharashtra has announced the launch of 'Mahadeep', a loan scheme for buying solar power-based home lighting solutions.

Under the scheme, the public sector bank will offer loans for the purchase of solar home systems.

The scheme is primarily aimed at the rural population in Maharashtra, currently reeling under severe power shortages, chairman M D Mallya told the media on Monday.

The bank would initially target customers from seven districts, including Pune, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Nashik, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara and Sindhudurg. Mallya said the scheme would eventually be extended to the rest of the state as the bank has a wide network of branches in all districts in the state.

The scheme envisages offering 85 per cent financial assistance to domestic users for buying solar home systems, for a maximum amount of Rs 25,000.

For the commercial applications, the loan amount will be restricted to 75 per cent of a maximum amount of Rs 2 lakh. The rate of interest for the loans, to be repaid over five years, will be equal to the base prime lending rate, which is presently 12.5 per cent.

Mallya said the bank had sought assistance from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for popularising the use of solar home lighting systems by educating the rural masses about the advantages of these systems.

"The bank expects to finance about 2,000 customers under this scheme in the first full year (2007-00) and disburse Rs 3 crore for the purpose," Mallya added.

Jyoti Painuly, senior energy planner of the Denmark-based UNEP, said the organisation would help in identifying the vendors of systems and verifying the credentials of the dealers. He said a budget of $47,000 had been earmarked for this purpose.

UNEP has undertaken a similar effort in Karnataka with Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank, where 18,000 customers have benefited from the scheme, Painuly said.