VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday said henceforth, Jagananna Thodu – interest-reimbursement scheme on loans taken – will be extended twice a year, in June and December.
He was speaking after depositing ₹ 16.36 crore into accounts of 4,50,546 beneficiaries under Jagananna Thodu scheme at a programme held in CM’s camp office at Tadepalli. ₹ 16.36 crore is the total interest amount being reimbursed to beneficiaries who had taken loans between November 2020 and September 2021 and repaid them in time.
The scheme enables small and petty vendors, apart from artisans, to take working capital loans from banks, instead of approaching private parties and often falling into debt traps owing to heavy interest charged by them. Once they repay their loan to the bank, the interest component of it is deposited by the government into the loanee’s account. It also enables the person to take the next loan.
Jagan Mohan Reddy asked beneficiaries to repay their loans on time, so that they could again take a loan in future. With regard to five per cent non-performing assets (NPAs) and 11 per cent loans being overdue, the CM directed officials to create awareness among beneficiaries taking loans, clearly explaining the need for timely repayment. People can call on 08912890525 to get their queries answered in this regard.
The Chief Minister pointed out that so far, total of 9,05,458 beneficiaries have availed interest-free loans worth ₹ 905 crores during two spells of Jagananna Thodu. State government has reimbursed interest to over 4,5 lakh people who have repaid their loans till now.
Energy minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy, chief secretary Sameer Sharma, special secretary Ajay Jain, chief secretary (Social Welfare) K. Sunita, SERP CEO A. Md. Imtiaz, Mepma MD Vijayalakshmi, SLBC convenor Brahmananda Reddy, Sthreenidhi MD Nancharaiah were among those present.
