April 17: The government is planning to provide concessional loans to 200 start-up projects in the current fiscal year. The government has been promising concessional loans for start-up projects for the last few years but has not been able to implement its decision.

The government has received applications from more than 1,600 entrepreneurs seeking the start-up loans.

"The target is to provide subsidized loans to around 200 projects from among those who have applied," said Umesh Kumar Gupta, executive director of the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute. The government has entrusted the institutute with the responsibility of collecting applications and selecting suitable candidates.

To help those who want to begin start-up ventures, the government has come up with a plan to provide loans at 3 per cent interest by keeping the projects as mortgage.

The government has also allocated a budget to involve people with the latest knowledge, thinking, skills and abilities in start-up enterprises. For such loans, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has allocated Rs 250 million in the current fiscal year. The government has adopted a policy of providing concessional loans up to a maximum of Rs 2.5 million for a start-up enterprise.

Gupta said that after providing the first instalment, the officials would visit the site of the project to see if the loan had been utilized. Only then will the second installment be released. "Even the third instalment will be released after assessing that the progress is satisfactory," he said.

For the implementation of this project, the institute issued a notice on February 2, inviting interested start-up entrepreneurs to submit proposals for the loan. In 21 days, 1,658 projects were registered with the institute seeking loans.

The institute has formed an evaluation committee and made 12 different criteria for providing loans. The committee will now conduct a preliminary study of the projects registered with the institute and invite the proponents to present their projects.

As per the criteria, only the businesses registered at the Department of Industry, state bodies and local levels can obtain the loans.

Those who do not attach documents like industry registration, renewal, permanent account number, or copy of tax payment certificate will be removed from the project loan process.

If an entrepreneur is found to have submitted more than one proposal, all proposals will be cancelled.

Projects that do not meet the specified criteria will not be included in the loan process. According to the institute, start-ups that do not appear for the presentation at the specified time will be automatically removed from the selection process.

According to Gupta, the entrepreneur's project will get scores on the basis of presentation. Gupta also said that the institute will provide 15 minutes for the presentation.

Gupta, executive director of the institute, informed that start-up projects that meet the criteria will be selected within 1 week. He said that after completion of the work, the selected project proponents will be asked to give a presentation and the loan will be given from mid-May.