Amaravati, June 7: For the second consecutive year, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be launching Jagananna Thodu scheme on Tuesday, which aims to provide a helping hand to small and petty vendors across the State.

Under this scheme, an interest-free loan of Rs 10,000 would be provided to 3.7 lakh small and petty vendors at an expenditure of Rs 370 crores. The scheme was launched by the Chief Minister on November 25, 2020, where in the first phase, Rs 535 crores were disbursed by the banks to 5.35 lakh beneficiaries, where the government had paid Rs 29.42 crores towards interest for Phase-1 beneficiaries.

In Phase-2, the State government has decided to extend financial assistance to 3.7 lakh beneficiaries through Sthreenidhi Credit Cooperative federation and APCOB covering all the eligible beneficiaries by sanctioning loans in rural and urban areas. The government had paid Rs 29.42 crore in interest on the first tranche of Rs 535 crore, and will now pay another Rs 20.35 crore in interest on the Rs 370 crore loan. Thus a total of Rs.49.77 crore is being borne by the Government under this scheme.

The main objective of the scheme is to free vendors from paying heavy interest to the loans taken from private parties and falling into debts. The banks will be providing loans to all the eligible members and the government shall pay the interest of the loan amount to banks, by reimbursing it to beneficiaries’ accounts. Vegetable vendors, fruit vendors, small shopkeepers, pushcart vendors, and traditional artisans are eligible to apply for this scheme.