The Gujarat government is all set to launch a scheme providing interest-free loans to women’s groups in the state, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced on Sunday, September, 13.

The scheme, Mukhyamantri Mahila Utkarsh Yojana (MMUY), will be launched on September 17, on the occasion of the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Under the scheme, loans of ₹1 lakh will be given to women self-help groups (SHGs) each comprising 10 members, an official release stated. It added that the state government will bear the interest burden on loans.

Around one lakh Joint Liability and Earning Group (JLEG) would be set up in the state, of which, 50,000 groups would be made in rural areas and the rest in urban areas. Thus, in a phased manner, a total of 10 lakh women would be given loans amounting to a total of Rs 1,000 crore.

The loans would be made available to the groups through nationalised banks, cooperative banks and the RBI approved financial institutions. The state will also waive the stamp duty charges for the loans to be given to these women groups.

‘The Gujarat government has decided to introduce a scheme to provide loan sans interest to women to make them self-employed. The scheme will help women to become self-reliant and will enable them to help their families to cope with finances in the time of coronavirus pandemic,’ the release stated.

While the scheme will be implemented in rural areas by the Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company, in urban areas it will be implemented by the Gujarat Urban Livelihood Mission.

‘This scheme will help women to start their own small business from their homes,’ the government stated.

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