Marlin Priya
Expert
Published on: Aug 18, 2025
Gatidhara Scheme
Exploring the situation of unemployment in the country, the state of West Bengal has brought up various measures to restrain the impact of unemployment among the residents of the state. One such initiative of the West Bengal Government for its unemployed youth of both rural and urban areas is the Gatidhara Scheme. The Ministry of Employment and Labour implemented this scheme to motivate employment through the transport sector by offering a subsidy loan to purchase commercial vehicles such as bus, taxi, auto-rickshaw, truck, etc. out of which income can be generated. In this article, we look at the West Bengal Government Gatidhara scheme in detailFeatures of Gatidhara Scheme
The Gatidhara scheme renders financial assistance in the form of a loan, which is sanctioned through all the Nationalized Banks, Co-operative Banks and Gramin Banks. Under this scheme, the project cost for the purchase of small and medium vehicle should fall within the maximum limit of Rs.10,00,000.Pattern of Funding
- The State Government financially supports the applicant by granting a subsidy of 30% of the project cost provided that it confines to Rs.1,00,000
- The bank approves the entrepreneur a term loan of 65% of the project cost
- The applicant should contribute the remaining 5% of the project cost as margin money
About the loan
The disbursement of loan would take place within 15 days from the receipt of the subsidy and the entrepreneur’s contribution. The rate of interest will be at par with that of the similar schemes being introduced by the Government of West Bengal. The repayment period of the loan is 5 to 7 years.Eligibility Criteria
The candidate applying for the scheme will be eligible on confirming to the following conditions:- The candidate should be a resident of West Bengal
- The age limit of the applicant should be between 20 to 45 years of age. Relaxation of the upper age limit is available for the SC, ST and OBC candidates up to five and three years respectively
- The overall household income of the beneficiary should not surpass Rs.25,000 per month
- The candidate should possess a valid commercial driving license
- Only one member from a family is applicable for a subsidy
- Applicants who have availed a loan under BSKP, USKP or any other scheme are also eligible for this scheme
- Candidates who receive the benefits under Yuvashree are also eligible, which includes termination of the allowance as soon as the bank loan is disbursed
Documents Required
The following documents are required for applying under the Gatidhara scheme:- Driving license
- Domicile certificate as a proof for residence
- Unemployment certificate
- A birth certificate as age proof
- Aadhaar card
- Income certificate from the respective authority
- Caste certificate
- Passport size photograph
- Project report
- Affidavit as per mentioned format

