Loans at 4% interest rate for women to promote entrepreneurship in tourism sector in Kerala

The Kerala government has decided to introduce a special subsidy loan scheme to encourage entrepreneurship as part of the women-friendly tourism scheme implemented by the Tourism department. The scheme will be implemented jointly by the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) and the Responsible Tourism Mission.

The decision was taken at a meeting held here on Tuesday in the presence of Public Works and Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas and Minister for Women and Child Development Veena George.

The scheme aims at providing loans at 4% interest to enterprises registered under the women-friendly scheme of the Responsible Tourism Mission. About 18,000 people have already registered under the scheme. They have expressed interest in starting enterprises in about 24 categories. The scheme aims at ensuring loans to them subject to the conditions set by the KSWDC, said the Tourism Minister, adding that the Tourism department has set aside ₹4 crore for this scheme.

‘A model’

“The KSWDC will provide all support to the scheme to promote women-friendly tourism. This will be the first time in the country that such a scheme is being launched for women’s enterprises in the tourism sector. The KSWDC will complete the procedures for implementing the project quickly,” said Ms. George. The Minister also added that cooperation with the Tourism department would become a model in the women’s entrepreneurship sector.

Responsible Tourism Mission Society Chief Executive Officer K. Rupeshkumar and KSWDC managing director Bindu V.C. were tasked with the coordination of the project activities.