Mahila Samriddhi Yojana (NBCFDC)

What is Mahila Samriddhi Yojana?

Mahila Samriddhi Yojana is a micro-finance scheme run by the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC), a body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. According to NBCFDC, the scheme provides small loans exclusively to women belonging to the Backward Classes so that they can take up self-employment and income-generating activities.

NBCFDC is an apex corporation. It does not lend to individuals at its head office; instead it channels concessional funds to a network of State Channelising Agencies (SCAs); usually the backward classes finance and development corporations of each state and union territory, and to registered self-help groups (SHGs), non-governmental organisations and micro-finance institutions. These partners on-lend to eligible women under Mahila Samriddhi Yojana.

Main features

• A micro-finance loan of up to about Rs 1.40 lakh per woman beneficiary.
• A concessional rate of interest of about 4 per cent a year to the woman.
• Delivered through SCAs, SHGs and partner NGOs, often to women organised in self-help groups.
• Intended for small trade, crafts, services, animal husbandry and similar self-employment.

Because NBCFDC periodically revises the loan ceiling, interest rate and income eligibility, always confirm the current figures with the channelising agency in your state before applying.

Who is eligible for Mahila Samriddhi Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are a woman belonging to a notified Backward Class.
• Your family income is within the NBCFDC eligibility ceiling for concessional financing (NBCFDC applies an income limit for its target group; the SCA will confirm the amount in force).
• You intend to use the loan for an income-generating self-employment activity, either individually or as a member of a self-help group.
• You are a resident of the state or union territory whose channelising agency you approach.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not belong to a Backward Class, or your family income is above the eligibility ceiling.
• You are seeking a personal, consumption or salaried-purpose loan — the scheme finances self-employment, not personal expenses.
• You expect to approach NBCFDC directly for an individual loan; NBCFDC works only through channel partners, so an individual cannot bypass the SCA/SHG route.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Mahila Samriddhi Yojana

1. Identify the channel partner in your area, most commonly the State Channelising Agency (your state's backward classes finance and development corporation), or an NBCFDC-linked self-help group, NGO or micro-finance institution.
2. Join or form a self-help group where the SCA lends through SHGs, and maintain the group's savings and meeting records, as micro-finance is commonly disbursed to women's SHGs.
3. Submit the loan application to the channel partner with your caste certificate, income certificate, Aadhaar, bank passbook and a brief note on the self-employment activity you plan to run.
4. Have the activity and amount appraised by the channel partner, which forwards eligible cases for sanction under NBCFDC's Mahila Samriddhi Yojana.
5. Receive the loan in your bank or SHG account after sanction, and repay in the agreed instalments over the sanctioned tenure.

How the self-help group model works

Mahila Samriddhi Yojana is often delivered through women's self-help groups (SHGs). In this model, a group of women saves together, builds a credit record, and receives micro-finance that the group then on-lends to its members for their individual activities. The group is jointly responsible for repayment, which keeps default low and lets the channelising agency reach women who may not have collateral or a formal credit history of their own.

For a first-time borrower, joining an active, well-run SHG that is already linked to the State Channelising Agency is usually the quickest route to a Mahila Samriddhi Yojana loan, because the group's track record supports the case. Women who prefer to borrow individually can still approach the SCA or a partner NGO directly, subject to the appraisal of their proposed activity.

Where to get help

For the current loan ceiling, interest rate, income limit and the name of the channelising agency in your state, contact NBCFDC (nbcfdc.gov.in) or your State Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation. NBCFDC also lists its SCAs and partner institutions on its website. Because the same name is used by several unrelated state schemes, confirm that you are applying to the NBCFDC micro-finance scheme before you begin.