Self-Employment Scheme: Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana

Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana, meaning literally "loan scheme for small business", is a component of the Self-Employment Scheme run by the Social Justice and Empowerment Department of Gujarat and implemented by the Gujarat Unreserved Educational and Economical Development Corporation, commonly written as GUEEDC. Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana lends up to Rs 10,00,000 at concessional interest to a person from the unreserved category who wants to open or expand a small shop or service business in Gujarat.

What is Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana?

Gujarat set up GUEEDC to give the unreserved, or general, category the same kind of credit and education support that the state's SC, ST and OBC corporations provide to their communities. Under GUEEDC's Self-Employment Scheme, the Nana Vyavasay component funds small trading and service units, the Corporation's own illustration lists a grocery shop, a medical store, a readymade garment shop and a bookstore, and other comparable small businesses are treated the same way.

The loan finances the actual cost of setting up the business: the deposit or fit-out of the premises, the opening stock, the counters, the refrigeration or display equipment, and the small tools of the trade. Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana is a loan, not a grant. The money is repaid with interest, and the Corporation takes security. Readers who search for the scheme expecting a subsidy should be clear on that point before applying.

How much does Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana give, and at what interest?

The ceiling is Rs 10,00,000 or the actual expenditure incurred on the business, whichever is lower. An applicant whose business proposal totals Rs 4,00,000 gets Rs 4,00,000, not the ceiling.

Interest is 5 percent simple interest per year. For a woman applicant the rate is 4 percent simple interest per year. The Corporation states that simple interest is calculated on the amount of loan given per year, which keeps the cost predictable and far below commercial small-business lending.

Repayment is in equal monthly instalments spread over 5 years, that is 60 instalments, beginning 3 months after the business starts. The applicant is separately required to start the business within 3 months of receiving the loan, so the repayment clock is tied to actual commencement rather than to disbursement alone.

Who is eligible for the Gujarat self-employment small business loan?

An applicant can apply if all of the following are true:

• The applicant is a resident of Gujarat.
• The applicant belongs to the unreserved (general) category.
• The applicant's age is between 18 years and 50 years.
• The family's annual income is Rs 6,00,000 or less.
• The applicant undertakes to start the small business within 3 months of receiving the loan.
• The applicant is willing to repay in equal monthly instalments over 5 years, starting 3 months after the business begins.
• The applicant can furnish two sureties for a loan up to Rs 7,50,000, or a property mortgage where the loan exceeds Rs 7,50,000, plus five blank signed cheques.

The following cannot apply or are not eligible:

• Applicants from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Socially and Educationally Backward Class or other reserved categories, who are served by their own state corporations rather than by GUEEDC.
• Anyone below 18 or above 50 years of age on the date of application.
• Families whose annual income exceeds Rs 6,00,000.
• A second member of a family where one member has already taken the benefit, because only 1 person per family is allowed.
• Residents of other states, even if the proposed business is in Gujarat.
• Applicants with dues outstanding to the Corporation, who cannot produce the non-deposit certificate.

Two further selection rules shape who actually gets money. A maximum of 5 beneficiaries are selected per village, which spreads the scheme geographically instead of concentrating it. Where applications exceed the target, selection is made by draw, and women applicants are given priority in the selection.

How to apply for Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana

1. Register on e-Samaj Kalyan. Open esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in, go to the Corporation menu and select "Gujarat Unreserved Education and Economical Development Corporation". Choose "Nana Vyavasay Mate Loan Yojana" under the Self-Employment Scheme and click Apply Now, then "New User? Please Register Here" and complete the registration form to get a user ID and password.
2. Log in and open the form. Enter the user ID, password and captcha, read the scheme conditions on the first screen and accept them to reach the application form.
3. Confirm your address and personal details. Verify the permanent address shown; if it is wrong, type the correct address. Fill age, category, family income and the details of the proposed business, then click Save & Next.
4. Upload the documents. Attach the Aadhaar card, age proof, income certificate, residence proof, category certificate, bank passbook, business proposal and the remaining papers listed in the documents section. Check every upload before moving on.
5. Submit and save the application number. Review the summary. Choose "No, Cancel" to go back and correct anything, or "Yes, Submit" to file it. Click Save Application, note the application number carefully, and print the application.
6. Send the signed physical file. Sign the printout, attach photocopies of everything uploaded, and deliver the set to the Deputy Director (Non-Reserved Category) or the District Social Welfare Officer, by courier, by post or in person. The online application alone is not treated as complete.
7. Complete post-approval formalities. If in-principle approval is granted, upload any further documents the Corporation asks for within the time allowed and submit the physical copies to the district office, along with sureties or mortgage papers and the required cheques, before disbursement.

Which documents are required?

The document set has three parts. The identity and eligibility papers are the Aadhaar card, proof of age such as the school leaving certificate, the income certificate showing family income of Rs 6,00,000 or less, proof of residence in Gujarat and the non-reserved category certificate. The financial papers are the bank passbook copy, a recent bank statement and the non-deposit certificate confirming no dues to the Corporation. The business papers are the written business proposal with costings, and, where the trade requires it, a driving licence or a trade-specific permission.

On top of these, the Corporation takes security before releasing money: two sureties where the loan is up to Rs 7,50,000, a mortgage of property where the loan is more than Rs 7,50,000, and five blank signed cheques in all cases. Applicants should arrange sureties early, because finding two acceptable guarantors is usually the slowest step in the whole process.

How do I check my application status?

Status is tracked on the e-Samaj Kalyan portal at the "View Application Status" page using the application number generated at submission. Selected applicants are informed by email or SMS on the contact details entered in the form, so the mobile number and email address must be ones the applicant actually uses. The district office of the Social Welfare Officer holds the physical file and can confirm whether the signed set was received and scrutinised.

Why do applications get rejected, and how do I avoid it?

The commonest rejection is a documentary failure rather than an eligibility failure. Applications are rejected when the required documents are not submitted within the timeline given after online filing, so the printed and signed set must be posted quickly. They are rejected when the income certificate shows family income above Rs 6,00,000, when the age on the proof falls outside the 18-50 band, or when another member of the same family has already taken the benefit. They are rejected when the category certificate does not establish unreserved status. They stall when sureties or mortgage papers are not arranged, since disbursement cannot happen without security, and when the bank details entered do not match the passbook.

An applicant whose application is rejected can check the reason recorded on the portal and apply again in the next round if the defect is curable and the eligibility conditions are still met.

Where do I complain or get help?

GUEEDC's office is at Block No. 2, 7th Floor, D-2 Wing, Karmyogi Bhavan, Sector 10-A, Gandhinagar 382010. The Corporation's published telephone numbers are 079-23258688 and 079-23258684, and these double as the helpline for its schemes. For a district-level problem, a file not traced, documents said to be missing, or a delay after approval — the first stop is the District Social Welfare Officer or the Deputy Director (Non-Reserved Category) who holds the physical application. Escalation beyond the Corporation lies with the Social Justice and Empowerment Department of Gujarat, which owns the Self-Employment Scheme.

When does the application window open?

GUEEDC opens the Self-Employment Scheme in announced rounds on e-Samaj Kalyan rather than keeping a permanent window, and selection within a round is made by draw once applications close. No fixed annual last date is published, so an intending applicant should keep documents ready in advance; particularly the income certificate and the category certificate, which take time to obtain, and file as soon as the round opens on esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in.