WB govt to provide loan to unemployed people under 'Karmasathi Prakalpa'

Kolkata: With the aim to help the state's unemployed people start new businesses, the West Bengal government has decided to launch the 'Karmasathi Prakalpa', under which soft loans up to Rs two lakh will be provided to them.

Unemployed people aged between 18 and 50 years will be benefited by the new scheme, a senior official at the state secretariat said on Saturday.

Besides, people who have passed Class 8, as well as those who have registered themselves in the employment bank, will be able to apply for the scheme, he added.

Senior government officials said the primary objective of the scheme is to create employment opportunities in the state.

The government will ensure a soft loan of up to Rs two lakh from state cooperative banks to support an unemployed person, a notification recently issued by the state government said.

The government will reimburse 50 per cent of the annual bank interest for three years if a person repays the interest on time, the official said.

As per the scheme, the banks will provide 80 per cent of the cost of business as loans, which will be a maximum of Rs two lakh.

The West Bengal government has set a target of disbursing loans to at least one lakh applicants annually, the official said, adding those interested in starting a business with the advances should submit a detailed report on the planned project to the block development officers or the sub- divisional officers, he said.

"After getting clearance from the SDOs and BDOs, the proposed projects will be sent directly to the cooperative banks concerned which will look into disbursing loans as quickly possible," he added.

The state government has over 14 lakh people registered with its employment bank.