Summary of this article
As a form of support, Government provides discounts on loans to women.
Women are offered several loan concessions.
These concessions are across home loans, education, and business.
The government provides many discounts on loans to women in order to provide them with better deals and also as a form of support and empowerment. Be it property loans, educational loans, or even loans to start a business, these are offered at relatively lower rate of interest to women borrowers. Women benefit from these concessions and incentives financially.
Here are a few such schemes and policies for women for different categories of loans.
Homebuying
Women are offered several concessions in homebuying, be it in the form of lower interest rate, reduced stamp duties, or even schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). These are applicable to single, married, or even joint applicants where a woman is an owner or a co-owner. Women get the following financial incentives:
Lower Interest Rates: Banks provide a concession of 0.05-0.1 per cent on home loan interest rates to women borrowers. This may seem nominal, but could lead to significant saving over the loan tenure, which could be 10-20 years or more.
Reduced Stamp Duty: If the property is registered in a woman's name, even jointly, the state government gives a reduction of 1-2 per cent. For instance, the rates in Delhi for stamp duty for a man are 6 per cent, while a woman pays only 4 per cent, whereas in Maharashtra, it is 1 per cent lower for women compared to men.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana: For families in the economically weaker section (EWS) and low-income group (LIG), this scheme has made it mandatory for the house to be registered in the woman’s name, be it solely or jointly.
Education Loans
Banks in India offer concessions, such as lower interest rates on education loans for women. There are government schemes that extend to women, such as:
Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi Scheme: Under this scheme, meritorious students get 3 per cent annual interest subsidy to women borrowers from families with annual income up to Rs 8 lakh.
Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme: It covers the full interest of the moratorium period for students from families with an annual income not exceeding Rs 4.5 lakh. The scheme’s 50 per cent funds are allocated specifically for female students.
Business Loans
The Government of India provides numerous schemes to provide financial assistance to women entrepreneurs who want to start a business or want to expand their existing venture. Here are some government schemes for women entrepreneurs.
Mudra Loan: The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana provides microloans up to Rs 10 lakh to women who are leading small enterprises. With a 0.25 per cent concession on the rate of interest, women get a small relief in the repayment amount.
Stand-up India: This scheme supports women entrepreneurs by providing financial assistance from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore, with a repayment period of up to 7 years. This scheme focuses on providing benefits to women from all social categories, but is open to men only from the SC/ST and OBC categories.
