Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana

National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) has initiated the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana to support the Single Women or Divorcee who take up income generating activity. It aims to finance for the economic empowerment of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) families those who are living below the poverty line and also ensures their skill upgradation. In this article, we look at the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana in detail.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for coverage of beneficiaries under the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana shall be as follows:

The applicant must be belonging to the Scheduled Castes.
The annual income of the family must be below the poverty line limit as prescribed timely. In rural areas, the income limit should be up to Rs. 98,000/- and in urban areas, it is limited to 1,20,000/-
The applicant must be either Widow, Divorcee, Single Mother, or Single Women aged above 35 years
The age of the applicant must be between 25-50 years to apply for this loan
All women registered under Widow Pension Scheme who must meet the conditions as per above-given conditions that would also be eligible for loans under the Scheme.

Note: The eligible candidates can avail financial assistance under any of NSFDC’s Schemes as per unit cost prescribed for those Schemes.

Unit Cost

The applicants who are eligible can avail the financial assistance under any of NSFDC’s Schemes as per unit cost prescribed for the Schemes.

Quantum of Assistance

NSFDC aims to provide loans only to economically poor sections of Scheduled Castes to promote and improve the economic development activities. The beneficiary of the scheme, selected for Financial Assistance under the NSFDC receives the subsidiary under the National Loan Scheme of NSFDC Loan Policy. The margin money will be provided by the SCAs and subsidy provided only to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) beneficiaries those who are under the Central Sector Scheme of Special Central Assistance to the Special Component Plans for Rs.10,000 or 50% of the unit cost, whichever is less. The selected beneficiaries under this Scheme can also be considered for assistance under NSFDC’s Skill Training Programme to undergo various vocational and entrepreneur development training in reputed institutions.

Loan Amount

The SCA will be providing 2% of the loan amount for the beneficiaries as a grant for the purpose of taking out ‘handholding activity’ covered under the Scheme and this subject to a maximum of amount of Rs. 4000 per unit.
The beneficiaries those who are covered under the Scheme would be eligible to avail the further assistance given for the expansion of business after 2 years of availing the first loan provided only if the repayment is regular.

Interest Rates

The NSFDC may charge a moderate interest from the applicants under Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana (NASY) at 1% per annum. The SCAs, which in turn, will charge 4% per annum from the beneficiaries.

Repayment Period

The loan under the NASY must be repaid in quarterly instalments by the applicants, within a maximum of 10 years period including moratorium period. The Moratorium Period will be from 3 months to 24 months depending upon the nature of the scheme.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana.

The Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana is a scheme initiated by the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) to support single women, divorcees, or widows who take up income-generating activities. It aims to finance the economic empowerment of persons belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) families living below the poverty line and ensure their skill upgradation.

To be eligible for the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana, the applicant must belong to the Scheduled Castes, with an annual family income below the poverty line limit (Rs. 98,000 in rural areas and Rs. 1,20,000 in urban areas). The applicant must be a widow, divorcee, single mother, or single woman aged above 35 years, and between 25-50 years old.

The NSFDC provides loans to economically poor sections of Scheduled Castes to promote and improve their economic development activities. Eligible beneficiaries can receive a subsidy of up to Rs. 10,000 or 50% of the unit cost, whichever is less, under the National Loan Scheme of NSFDC Loan Policy.

The loan amount is determined based on the unit cost prescribed for the specific NSFDC scheme the applicant is eligible for. Additionally, the State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) will provide a grant of 2% of the loan amount, subject to a maximum of Rs. 4,000 per unit, for handholding activities.

The NSFDC charges a moderate interest rate of 1% per annum from the applicants under the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana. The SCAs, in turn, will charge 4% per annum from the beneficiaries.

The loan under the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana must be repaid in quarterly installments within a maximum period of 10 years, including a moratorium period. The moratorium period can range from 3 months to 24 months, depending on the nature of the scheme.

Yes, the beneficiaries covered under the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana are eligible to avail further assistance for expanding their business after 2 years of receiving the first loan, provided they have maintained regular repayment.

Yes, the selected beneficiaries under the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana can also be considered for assistance under NSFDC's Skill Training Programme to undergo various vocational and entrepreneurial development training in reputed institutions.

The annual family income of the applicant should be below the poverty line limit, which is prescribed as up to Rs. 98,000 in rural areas and up to Rs. 1,20,000 in urban areas.

Yes, women registered under the Widow Pension Scheme who meet the eligibility conditions mentioned for the Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana, such as belonging to Scheduled Castes and falling below the prescribed income limit, are also eligible for loans under the scheme.