On May 14, 2020, In a bid to help people start a normal life which has been affected due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown , the Gujarat state government has launched a ‘Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna (AGSY)’ under which small businessmen and a cross- section of people falling under the lower middle-income group can take a guarantee-free loan of Rs 1 lakh from banks at a 2 % annual interest rate. While the rest 6 % interest will be paid by the state government.
Key Points:
i.The urban and district cooperative banks and credit societies in the state will provide this loan with a tenure of 3 years and the installment payment will start only after 6 months of the receipt of loan.
ii.More than 10 lakh people of the state will get benefited by the loans, which will be provided on the basis of application, in which no guarantee will be required.
iii.The scheme is in line with the central government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (or Self-reliant India Mission) , which has given a package of Rs 20 lakh crore to make India ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant).
iv.The other states have announced an assistance of only Rs 5,000 for small people like electricians, ‘dhobi’ and shopkeepers, skilled workers, auto rickshaw owners, among others.
About Gujarat:
Capital– Gandhinagar
Chief minister– Vijay Rupani
Governor– Acharya Devvrat
State Fruit– Mango
State Tree– Banyan
