Thiruvananthapuram: Nagamma, 65, sells traditional crispy cookies ‘murukku’ and ‘achappam’ at her small shack on the fringes of Brahmin Colony in Karamana here. She pays Rs 200 daily as interest to a private money lender from whom she had borrowed Rs 10,000 recently.
Preman is a 54-year-old lottery vendor who had fallen on bad times. He had secured an express loan of Rs 1 lakh from a local money lender, and daily pays Rs 500 as interest alone, Rs 15,000 a month. Nagamma and Preman were among the 400-odd men and women who flocked to the first ever public camp conducted by SBT to identify beneficiaries for Prime Minister’s MUDRA Yojana, a loan scheme for micro business, In Thiruvananthapuram.
Under the scheme loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh will be granted for micro businesses. Importantly, loans will be granted at the base rate of 9.95 per cent. If Nagamma and Preman are granted the loan of Rs 50,000 they had sought, they need to pay a monthly interest of less than Rs 700. The credit morality of small borrowers is higher than that of richer ones,” said SBT chief general manager S Adikeshavan. “I don't think it will be a problem for a person like Nangamma, who has been doing this business for years, to secure a MUDRA loan.”
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