Bihar government approves loan at 4 per cent interest to women self-help groups

In a decision aimed at empowering women, the state government on Wednesday approved a proposal providing loans at four per cent rate of interest to Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Bihar, an official said.

The decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Principal Secretary (Cabinet Secretary) Brajesh Mehrotra told reporters.

Explaining the matter further, Rural Development Secretary Amrit Lal Meena said the decision to provide loans to the SHGs at the rate of 4 per cent interest will go a long way in alleviating the condition of women through empowerment and employment generation.

Earlier, the banks used to provide loans to the SHGs at 12 per cent interest rate, he said.  The state government will bear the additional interest charged by the banks to the SHGs, Meena said.

Under the scheme, an SHG working for ten families will be able to get Rs 30,000 loan per family, he said, adding under the state government's Jeevika scheme as many as 1.5 lakh SHGs were operating in Bihar, while another 85,000 SHGs were functioning under other schemes.

The state government has set a target of ten lakh SHGs in Bihar by 2017, Meena said. In addition, the state government approved 26 other proposals, Mehrotra added.