Micro Finance Scheme for Self Help Groups (GTKVN)

What is the GTKVN Micro Finance Scheme for Self Help Groups?

Micro Finance Scheme for Self Help Groups is a lending scheme of the Gujarat Thakor and Koli Vikas Nigam (GTKVN), a development corporation working under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Government of Gujarat. In the Nigam's own Gujarati listing it appears simply as the microfinance yojana, one of five economic-upliftment schemes it runs.

The scheme's purpose is to give women of the Thakor and Koli communities who are already members of a self-help group the working capital to move from group savings into an actual income-earning activity of their own, tailoring, dairy, a provision shop, food processing, beauty work, or any similar small enterprise.

According to the scheme details published on myScheme for the Gujarat Social Justice and Empowerment Department, the Nigam finances 95 per cent of the project cost, with the beneficiary contributing 5 per cent, at an interest rate of 5 per cent per annum, repayable in 48 equal monthly instalments. myScheme records the maximum loan under this component as Rs 60,000.

A note on the ceiling, because the published sources differ. The Nigam's own scheme page for micro finance on sje.gujarat.gov.in shows a considerably higher maximum of Rs 5,00,000 and describes the interest rate only as the rate "determined by the Government from time to time". The financing pattern (95 per cent loan, 5 per cent own share), the age band, the income ceiling and the 48-instalment repayment are identical across both sources. Because the ceiling and the rate are the two figures that differ, an applicant should confirm the current sanctioned amount and interest rate with the district GTKVN office before finalising a project cost. This guide states both published figures rather than picking one.

Settled features across both sources

• Financing pattern: 95 per cent loan, 5 per cent own contribution.
• Repayment: 48 equal monthly instalments, four years, with interest.
• Age band: 21 to 50 years at application.
• Family income ceiling: Rs 3,00,000 per year, as revised with effect from 1 April 2018.
• Priority: at least 50 per cent of the loan amount for families with income up to Rs 1,50,000.
• Security: a guarantor or suitable security is required.
• Application: online only.

Who is eligible for the micro finance scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Gujarat.
• You belong to the Thakor or Koli community, evidenced by a caste certificate from a competent authority.
• You are an active member of a self-help group.
• You are between 21 and 50 years of age at the time of application.
• Your family's annual income does not exceed Rs 3,00,000.
• You have relevant experience or skill in the business you propose to run.
• You can offer a guarantor or suitable security.
• You can put up the 5 per cent own contribution.

You are not eligible, and cannot apply, if:

• You are not a member of a self-help group. SHG membership is the defining condition of this particular component; a woman who wants an individual loan without SHG membership should look at the Nigam's Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, New Swarnima Yojana or general Term Loan instead.
• You are under 21 or over 50 at the date of application.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 3,00,000 a year.
• You do not belong to the Thakor or Koli community. Women of other communities should approach the corporation that serves their category, the Gujarat Scheduled Caste Development Corporation, the Gujarat Backward Classes Development Corporation, or the Gujarat Minorities Finance and Development Corporation.
• You cannot furnish a guarantor or security.
• You have a loan already pending or outstanding with the corporation.
• Another member of your family has already applied under the same scheme in the same cycle.

This is a loan and not a grant. The 5 per cent rate published on myScheme is concessional compared with commercial micro-lending, but the principal and interest are recoverable in full over 48 months, and default has consequences for both the borrower and the guarantor.

What documents are required?

Collect these before the application window opens. GTKVN windows are short, and an income or caste certificate obtained from the Mamlatdar can itself take some weeks.

How to apply for the micro finance scheme

1. Check whether the window is open. Visit gtkdconline.gujarat.gov.in and read the announcements on the home page. GTKVN accepts applications only during the periods it notifies for each scheme.
2. Register on the portal using your own mobile number and keep it active. The Nigam's guidelines require the applicant's own number, because every notification about the file is sent to it.
3. Select "Apply Now" from the menu, then choose the Micro Finance scheme for self-help groups and your category.
4. Complete the application form; personal details, caste, age, SHG name and membership details, address, family income, the proposed business activity and its location, project cost, and your bank account with IFSC.
5. Upload the documents, caste certificate, SHG membership proof, income certificate, age proof, Aadhaar, ration card, voter ID, business address proof, bank passbook, guarantor papers and photographs.
6. Review and confirm the application. The Nigam's process is a sequence: apply online, upload photograph and documents, then confirm. An application left unconfirmed is not taken up for scrutiny.
7. Note the application ID or reference number shown on submission and keep a printout.
8. Attend the district GTKVN office when called, with the original documents and your guarantor, for verification.
9. Complete the loan formalities after sanction and arrange your 5 per cent own contribution before disbursement.

How do I check my application status?

1. Log in to gtkdconline.gujarat.gov.in with the mobile number used to apply.
2. Open the application status section and enter your application ID.
3. The stage will show as submitted, under scrutiny, recommended, sanctioned, or disbursed.
4. For a file that has not moved, contact your district GTKVN office or the head office in Gandhinagar on 079-23256486.

Once the loan is disbursed, the same portal carries the loan repayment facility, so keep your login credentials for the whole four-year repayment period. Paying instalments on time matters beyond your own account: the Nigam's capacity to lend to the next cycle of applicants from the same community depends on recovery.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• No self-help group membership record. The defining condition. Obtain a written membership record from the group before applying.
• No acceptable guarantor. The commonest reason a technically eligible application fails. Identify the guarantor and gather their papers first.
• Age outside 21 to 50. Not curable within this scheme.
• Income certificate above Rs 3,00,000, or expired. Get a current certificate from the Mamlatdar.
• Existing loan outstanding with the corporation. Close the earlier account first.
• Second application from the same family. Only one per family per scheme.
• Application saved but not confirmed. Complete the confirmation step before the window closes.
• Bank account not in the applicant's own name. Disbursement and recovery both require an account in the borrower's name.

Key dates and the annual cycle

GTKVN does not keep this scheme permanently open. The corporation announces scheme-wise application windows on gtkdconline.gujarat.gov.in, and a recent direct-finance window ran from 28 August to 27 September, illustrating how short the period can be. Applicants should therefore treat document collection as the year-round task and the application itself as a few days' work once the window opens.

Sanction follows district scrutiny and can take some months, so a borrower should not commit to purchases or premises before the sanction letter is issued.

Where to raise a grievance

• District GTKVN office — first stop for verification and file status.
• Gujarat Thakor and Koli Vikas Nigam head office, Block 16, Ground Floor, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan (Old Sachivalaya), Gandhinagar 382010 to phone 079-23256486.
• Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Block 5, 8th Floor, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, for escalation beyond the corporation.
• Portal help section on gtkdconline.gujarat.gov.in, for registration, upload or confirmation faults.

Applying costs nothing. No agent can secure a sanction, and no GTKVN official will ask for your portal password or OTP.