On the 2nd day of her visit to Jammu & Kashmir, Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman handed over sanction letters to 145 beneficiaries for ₹ 306 crore of different banks which included sanction letters to different credit linked schemes like Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), MUDRA Scheme, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Joint-Liability Groups (JLGs) etc. during an event.

The Finance Minister also announced a number of new schemes and initiatives for Jammu & Kashmir which included launch of Tejasvini & Hausala schemes of J&K Bank, Shikhar & Shikara schemes of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and SIDBI cluster development fund for ₹ 200 crore. Tejasvini scheme focuses on providing financial assistance of ₹ 5 lakh to girls between 18-35 years for starting their business. Shikhar scheme focuses on meeting credit requirements up to ₹ 2 crore for hotel, tour & tourism industry. Under Shikara scheme credit up to ₹ 15 lakh for purchase/repair of Shikaras is provided in Kashmir valley.

Smt. Sitharaman also laid foundation stone for Rural Self-employment Training Institutes (RSETI) building at Shopian & Baramula and inaugurated J&K bank branches of Salal, Bagga & Budhan in Reasi district. Under the aegis of NABARD, registration certificates to 5 FPOs were handed over and also sanction letter of rural mart to Asha SHG was handed over.

Smt. Sitharaman attended a number of events organized by Banker’s Committee of the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory (UTLBC of J&K) at the General Zorawar Singh Auditorium Complex, University of Jammu, here today. The event was attended by Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri Manoj Sinha along with a number of senior officials from Department of Financial Services, Government of India, and senior officials of Jammu & Kashmir administration. Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir gave a welcome address and apprised the gathering about the efforts being made by UT administration for economic development of the region.

For FY 2020-21, it was announced that NABARD for UT of Jammu & Kashmir is increasing its commitment under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) from ₹ 787 crore to ₹ 1,500 crore which will help in creation of rural infrastructure for faster economic growth. To further accelerate economic growth, banks will also increase their ground level credit in Jammu & Kashmir for the previous year level of ₹ 14,735 crore to ₹ 16,000 crore in current Financial Year.

The Finance Minister visited a number of put up by beneficiaries from J&K Bank, SBI, PNB, J&K Grameen Bank and NABARD among others. Smt. Sitharaman interacted with the beneficiaries and enquired about the transformative effect the bank credit has made in their entrepreneurial journey. The Finance Minister also showed a keen interest in the products made by the entrepreneurs.

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RM/KMN

Credit support for entrepreneurship expanded with targeted loan schemes for women and tourism, plus rural infrastructure funding. A programme of expanded credit support and new lending products for Jammu & Kashmir was announced, combining sanctioning of loans under existing credit-linked schemes (PMEGP, MUDRA, SHGs, JLGs) with launch of bank-run schemes-Tejasvini for women entrepreneurs, Shikhar for hotel, tour and tourism sector credit, and Shikara for Shikara purchase/repair-and a SIDBI cluster development fund. Complementary measures include RSETI infrastructure, new bank branches, NABARD-supported FPO registrations and increased RIDF commitment to boost rural infrastructure and ground-level bank credit in the Union Territory.