With the festive season on everyone’s minds, there are finance companies who are looking forward to giving consumers a treat. With people looking for the perfect loan with the best interest rates, there are banks who are willing to give out the best deals where they can save money on their loans. This festive season, banks have launched deals on loans to attract more business and to help people get loans easily. People having a rough time with managing their funds this festive season, can benefit from these loans.

Banks provide festive offers for retail products at reduced interest rates with low or no processing charges. Customers also get cheaper loans along with added benefits like pre-approved digital loans. So if you are planning on buying a new home and are on the lookout for a good deal on loans, this is the right time to dive in. Any personal loan, home loan or auto loan taken by you from a bank will be linked to an external benchmark specified by the Reserve Bank of India. Your EMIs could get cheaper due to the external benchmark linked interest rates that banks have begun to provide for retail borrowers and MSMEs from October 1.

First phase of the ‘Loan Mela’

Banks held a ‘Loan Mela’ for 4 days starting from October 3, which was the first phase of the programme. The second phase of the program is scheduled right before Diwali from October 21 to October 25. All the major banks like State Bank of India(SBI), Punjab National Bank(PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Corporation bank along with many other banks had participated in the fair. It was a program for providing credit to retail customers and MSMEs across 250 districts in the country. Some of these melas were organised in community halls or local clubs, where the customers were welcomed to traditional dances and music. Applicants got their loan approved within an hour, if they had come with appropriate documentation. Normal procedures were undertaken before the banks approved or disbursed the loans. For people who wanted to get an idea about loans that they can avail, had got the opportunity of checking out the schemes they wanted with different lenders. Letters of loans sanctioned were handed out to customers but their loan applications were under process for a few weeks prior to the starting of the mela.

Types of Loans provided at the Melas across the country

Along with the usual loans like personal loans, educational loans and home loans there were other loan schemes that were available in the first phase of the loan mela. Loans to help small enterprises and loans for farmers, housing loans, vehicle loans etc were all available.  Some of the loans available at the loan mela were:

MUDRA Loans

MSME loans are provided to start-ups and small business owners who are seeking support financially. These are unsecured loans that are offered by banks and NBFCs to applicants who meet the eligibility criteria. MUDRA scheme falls under this category. Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. [MUDRA] is provided under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) to non-farming and non-corporate micro and small enterprises.  These enterprises can avail loans up to Rs.10 Lakh under the MUDRA (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd.) scheme

Pushpaka Vehicle Loans

This vehicle loan is provided by Indian Overseas Bank to people who are looking forward to buying a new or used car which is not more than 5 years old or to buy a new two-wheeler.

Subhagruha Housing Loan

This is a housing loan facility provided byIndian Overseas Bank. Customers get the loan in the form of cash credit where they can park any lump sum amounts received. This will enable the applicant to save on interest to an extent, therefore the actual interest charged will be lesser than the term loan.

Baroda Kisan Pakhwada

Bank of Baroda inaugurated the “Baroda Kisan Pakhwada” to provide increased financial assistance to farmers, especially in their agricultural endeavors. It is an initiative that aims at promoting increase in advances in rural and agricultural sectors. It also promotes farmers to get connected with the services provided by the bank. Hence their focus is on promoting farm loans.

Loan Melas in different districts

The first phase of the loan mela sanctioned loans for retail, education, vehicle, home, MSME, agriculture and personal loans. State Bank of India was the lead banker in 48 districts across the country, whereas Bank of Baroda was the lead banker in 17 districts out of 250 districts in the first phase. Impact of the loan mela in few locations are mentioned below:

Loan Mela in Erode

The three-day loan mela began in Erode at Parimalam Mahal on Oct 4th. 35 banks including State Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda and other private banks participated in the mela. Non-financial institutions like SIDBI and NABARD also participated in the fair. There were stalls that were allocated to each bank and customers were able to get details on different loans like vehicle, agriculture, business, home etc. Applicants with necessary documents were able to get loans approved easily. After the processing was done, the loans were distributed through the respective bank branch in the applicant’s area. Inquiries made on the first day were related to interest rates, repayment periods and documentation required.

Loan Mela in Krishna District

Bankers in Krishna district set a new record by providing around Rs. 740 crores worth of loans to customers in a span of 1 week. The first phase of the initiatives sanctioned loans for retail, agriculture, vehicle, home, MSME, education and personal loans. A total loan amount of Rs. 243 crores were sanctioned by bankers in Machilipatnam alone. All major banks like SBI, BoB, PNB and Corporation bank took part in the mela. Andhra Bank alone provided a loan amount of Rs. 150 crores. Bank loans were also distributed to Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and other customers under the MUDRA scheme. On this loan mela occasion, MUDRA loans were provided to 385 customers which amounted to Rs. 32.5 crores. And a whopping Rs. 24.54 crores were given to Self-Help Groups.

Banks Providing Festive Offers

Indian Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) had arranged stalls of its four branches in Rajamahendravaram during the loan mela which was arranged by State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC). The banks is providing loans like education loans, car loans, Pushpaka vehicle loans, Subha Gruha housing loans, IOB Gharonda-PMAY loan, Mudra loans etc to all the customers who were eligible. These loans are being provided at revised affordable interest rates. Customers looking for similar loans can attend the second phase of the loan mela.

State Bank of India

SBI is providing festival loans to help customers meet any kind of festival related expenses at a low interest rates, low processing charges, no hidden costs or administrative charges. The loan amount provided would be determined by the applicants income and repayment capability. They had also announced they would be giving special offers ahead of the festive season for retail customers on auto/car loans, personal loans, education loans and home loans.

 Types of loans  Benefits of the loans
 Car Loans  Lowest interest rates starting from 8.70%. Salaried customers can also avail the loan up to 90% of the car’s on road price
 Personal loans  Loans of up to Rs. 20 lakhs with interest rates from 10.75% with tenure of up to 6 years. Salary account customers of SBI can avail pre-approved digital loans up to Rs. 5 lakhs.
 Education loans  Loans with interest rates starting from 8.25% for loans up to Rs. 50 lakhs for studies in India and up to Rs. 1.50 crores for studies abroad respectively, with a repayment tenure of 15 years


Bank of India

Bank of India is providing home loans at good interest rates, educational loans at competitive rates and SME welcome offer loans.

BOI Home Loans

Bank of India is offering home loans at reduced interest rates with no processing fee charges. Home loans of up to Rs. 30 lakhs would be available at 8.35% while loans above Rs. 30 lakhs would be linked to the repo rate.

BOI SME  Loans

The bank has also launched an SME loan welcome offer, wherein loans between Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 5 crores would be available at concessional rates depending on the value of security.

Additional Reading: Is it worth opting for festive season loans?

HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank festive treats are for both retail as well as business customers. HDFC bank customers will get exciting offers online and in-store on Credit Cards, EasyEMI, Loans and more. Customers can get offers on:

  • Personal and Car Loans: You get to pay less on your loans during the festive season. Get good EMI/lakh options on personal loan and car loans.

  • Gold Loans: You don’t have to pay loan closing charges post 3 months

  • Business Growth Loans: Get 50% off on processing fees

ICICI Bank

With the festive season on the go, ICICI Bank is providing various offers on ICICI Bank Personal loans:

  • FREE Sony Liv subscription for 1 year 

  • Enjoy flat Rs. 250 off on Ease My Trip for booking domestic flights

  • Get Rs. 250 off on minimum purchase of Rs. 1,799 on Myntra

Second Phase of the Loan Mela

The second phase will be held in 150 districts and will be held between October 21 and October 25, just before Diwali. 

End Note

Getting lower interest rates and low processing fees on loans will pique the interest of the customers and will make it easier for them to consider availing a loan. So, these festive offers can help people get the loans that suit their needs. With loan melas, people can come under one roof, understand different kinds of loans offered by different banks and apply for a loan as per their requirements.