NSFDC

• Identification of trades & other economic activities of importance to Scheduled Castes population.
• Improvement of skills & processes employed by persons belonging to Scheduled Castes.
• Promotion of small, cottage & village industries.
• Financing of pilot projects for upliftment of individuals belonging to Scheduled Castes and their economic welfare.
• Improvement in flow of financial assistance to persons belonging to Scheduled Castes for their economic well-being.
• Project preparation, training and financial assistance to the target group eager to set up their projects.
• Loans to eligible Scheduled Caste students willing to pursue full time professional and technical courses in India and abroad.
• Extending loans to eligible youth to enhance their skill & employability by pursuing vocational education & training courses in India.

What kind of assistance is provided through NSFDC?

NSFDC provides both financial assistance and skill development assistance to eligible SC candidates. NSFDC financial assistance schemes come at concessional interest rates under various credit schemes to beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes. These schemes are implemented through the State/UT Channelizing Agencies and other channel partners.

NSFDC is also extending various non-credit schemes to support the target groups. Skill Training is an important aspect of NSFDC.

Financial Assistance Schemes: 

• Term Loan (Tl)
• Micro Credit Finance (MCF)
• Mahila Samriddhi Yojana (MSY)
• Mahila Kisan Yojna (MKY)
• Shilpi Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)
• Laghu Vyavsay Yojana (LVY)
• Stand-Up India (SUPI)
• Educational Loan Scheme (ELS)
• Vocational Education and Training Loan Scheme (VETLS)
• Green Business Scheme (GBS)
• Aajeevika Microfinance Yojana (AMY)
• Udyam Nidhi Yojana (UNY)

Term Loans (TL)

• NSFDC shall provide loans of up to 90% of the project cost. 
• The SCAs should contribute their share of assistance as per the scheme guidelines
• The SCAs should also provide the required subsidy besides tying up of the financial resources from other sources available.
• Repayment in quarterly/half yearly/yearly instalments, within a maximum period of 10 years.
• Moratorium of 6 - 12 months depending on the nature of business activity.

Micro Credit Finance (MCF)

• Finance assistance to project cost of up to Rs. 60,000
• Specifically, for Small Income Generation activities
• Repayment within 3 1/2 years, in quarterly instalments from date of each disbursement including moratorium period.
• Moratorium period of 3 months
• Upon successful repayment of loan under the MCF scheme, the beneficiary can apply for loan under other NSFDC schemes.

Mahila Samriddhi Yojana (MSY)

• Designed to assist females with Micro Finance with preferential interest rates.
• Financial Assistance up to project cost of Rs. 60,000/- 
• Repayment within 3 1/2 years, in quarterly instalments from date of each disbursement including moratorium period.
• Moratorium period of 3 months
• Upon successful repayment of loan under the MCF scheme, the beneficiary can apply for loan under other NSFDC schemes.

Mahila Kisan Yojana (MKY)

• Exclusively for rural women taking up agriculture and/or mixed farming related economic activities in rural areas
• Finance assistance up to project cost of Rs.2 lakhs
• Repayment within 10 years, in quarterly instalments from date of each disbursement including moratorium period.
• Moratorium period of 12 months

Shilpi Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)

• Financial assistance for projects involving small income generating activities
• Project cost of up to Rs.2 lakhs
• Repayment within 6 years, in quarterly instalments from date of each disbursement including moratorium period
• Moratorium period of 6 months

Laghu Vyavsay Yojana (LVY)

• Financial assistance for project cost of up to Rs.5 lakhs
• Repayment within 6 years, in quarterly instalments from date of each disbursement including moratorium period
• Moratorium period of 6 months

Educational Loan Scheme

• Financial assistance for pursuing full time Technical / Professional course
• Repayment period of up to 10 years for loans up to Rs.7.50 lakh & up to 15 years for loans above Rs7.50 lakh
• Moratorium period of 6 months after course completion or getting employment, whichever is earlier
• Educational loans shall be provided to eligible students for pursuing Regular Full-time Professional / Technical courses recognized & approved by the Government in various fields in India or abroad

Vocational Education and Training Loan Scheme (VETLS)

• Need based loans to undergo Vocational Education & Training courses of up to 2 years’ duration to improve skill & employability
• Maximum limit of Rs. 4 lakhs
• The course should be undertaken at a training institute run or supported by the Ministry/Department/Organization of the Government or a Company/Society/Organization supported by a National Skill Development Corporation or State Skills/Mission/State Skill Corporations.
• There is no entry age restriction. Upper age limit is 50 years. 
• The annual family income of the trainee should be below the Double Poverty Limit, below Rs. 3.00 lakh for both rural and urban areas.
• NSFDC shall charge rate of interest at 1.5% per annum from the Channelizing Agency which, in turn shall charge 4% per annum from the beneficiaries. In case of women, an interest rebate of 0.5% shall be provided.
• Moratorium period of 6 months from completion of courses or getting employment, whichever is earlier.
• Repayment tenure of up to 7 years. 

Green Business Scheme (GBS)

• Financial assistance for activities which can combat climate change and allow for income generation
• The annual family income of the trainee should be below the Double Poverty Limit, below Rs. 3.00 lakh for both rural and urban areas
• Need based loans of up to 90% of the project cost with a maximum limit of Rs. 30 lakhs
• Projects covered under the scheme

a. Battery electric vehicle (E-rickshaw)

b. Compressed air vehicle

c. Solar energy gadgets

d. Poly houses

Repayment within 10 years, in quarterly instalments from date of disbursement including moratorium period of 6 months.

Interest Rates

Aajeevika Microfinance Yojana (AMY)

• The objective of the scheme is to provide Micro Finance to eligible Scheduled Caste persons at reasonable rate of interest through NBFC-MFIs to pursue small/micro business activities.
• The annual family income of the trainee should be below the Double Poverty Limit, below Rs. 3.00 lakh for both rural and urban areas
• The unit cost of the Project should not exceed Rs. 60,000/-
• NSFDC shall contribute up to 90% of the project cost. 
• Balance 10% shall be contributed by the NBFC-MFI and/or beneficiaries.
• Rate of Interest: 

NSFDC to NBFC-MFI – 4% p.a for women & 5% p.a for men

Interest Spread to NBFC-MFI - > 8%

NBFC-MFI to Beneficiaries - Target Group shall be eligible to get interest subvention of 2% per annum

Repayment within 3 years, in quarterly instalments from date of disbursement including moratorium period of 3 months.

Udyam Nidhi Yojana

• The objective of this scheme is to provide institutional finance to the Scheduled Caste persons at a reasonable rate Cooperative Societies and Cooperative Banks (Channelizing Agency-CA) to pursue small/micro business activities.
• The applicant(s) should be from the Scheduled Caste community.
• The annual family income of the trainee should be below the Double Poverty Limit, below Rs. 3.00 lakh
• Projects can be submitted by Individuals, Self Help Groups (SHGs)/Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) to undertake income generating activities. The sanction is subject to certain conditions.
• The unit cost of the project should not exceed Rs. 5 lakhs. 
• NSFDC shall contribute up to 90% of the project cost. 
• Balance 10% shall be contributed by the NBFC-MFI and/or beneficiaries.
• However, refinance requests shall receive 100% finance assistance. 
• Rate of Interest:

• Repayment within 6 years, in quarterly instalments from the date of each disbursement including moratorium period and fund utilization period
• Moratorium period of 3 months and Fund Utilization period of 120 days.

Skill Training & Development

Along with financial assistance, NSFDC also provides skill development assistance to SC persons to improve their skill and employability.

• No income criteria for candidates seeking training through the Skill Development programme
• Candidates get free training and stipend @Rs.1500/- per month during the training period, subject to 90% attendance of trainees in each month.
• Upon successful completion of the training, candidates get placement assistance and/or entrepreneurial guidance to start their own ventures with financial assistance from NSFDC through State Channelizing Agencies/Channel Partners.
• Training courses designed to train individuals in high impact labour intensive sectors such as Computer Technology, Apparel Technology, Plastic Technology, Retail, Hospitality, Health care, Food Processing etc.
• Government /Semi-Government /Autonomous Institutions and Universities/Deemed Universities are given preference for conducting its sponsored skill development training programmes.
• SSCs/SSC affiliated training providers will be considered for providing training, preferably for cluster development, especially in areas where NSFDC would be channelizing funds through Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs).
• Preference will be given to training institutes with whom NSFDC has signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to promote the “learn, earn and pay” model of skill training through VETLS.
• Courses approved by the concerned Sector Skill Council (SSC) are given sponsorship preference by NSFDC.
• Sector Skill Council affiliated Voluntary Organization/NGOs can register on the NSFDC Portal to provide skill training.

What are the eligibility criteria to enrol in schemes offered by NSFDC?

• The schemes and skill training programmes are specifically designed for individuals from the Schedule Castes
• The annual family income of the trainee should be below the Double Poverty Limit, below Rs. 3.00 lakh, for both rural and urban areas.

How to apply for the various loan schemes under NSFDC?

• Financial assistance is disbursed through Channelizing Agencies of NSFDC such as Regional Rural Banks/ Public Sector Banks/ NBFC MFIs etc. with whom NSFDC has signed Memorandum of Agreements.
• Applicants can either submit the loan application along with a detailed project proposal to the District Offices of State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) at the Channelizing Agencies of NSFDC such as Regional Rural Banks/ Public Sector Banks/ NBFC MFIs etc.
• The submitted project proposals are scrutinized by the Project and Banking Desk. The appraisal report is submitted to the Project Clearance Committee (PCC) for their concurrence.
• Eligible and viable projects are recommended for sanction.
• After sanction, Sanction Letters called as Letter of Intents(LOIs), along with Terms & Conditions are issued to the SCAs/ RRBs/ Public Sector Banks/ NBFC-MFIs etc. for acceptance.
• Once the SCAs/ RRBs/ Nationalized Bank accept the terms and conditions of the sanction and fulfilment of Prudential Norms, as applicable, funds are disbursed for onward disbursement to the beneficiaries.
• The disbursement of funds is made by NSFDC on receipt of demand from the SCAs/ RRBs/ Public Sector Banks/ NBFC MFIs.
• The loans are to be repaid by the beneficiaries as per the repayment scheme stipulated by the SCAs/CAs.

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