Beneficiaries of the Karnataka Government’s Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which provides women heads of families with Rs 2,000 monthly, will soon be able to secure low-interest loans from the Gruha Lakshmi Multipurpose Cooperative Society, to be launched on November 19, officials said on Tuesday.
The society will provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh, which, according to Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar will further improve the financial strength of women. The low-interest loans are meant for pursuing self-employment or meeting emergencies and other requirements.
“The objective is to ensure security and financial independence for women,” Hebbalkar said.
The society has started registering members and plans to expand to all the 31 districts by the end of this month, officials said.
On Tuesday, officials handed over the registration papers of the newly formed society to the minister ahead of its launch. There are 1.24 crore beneficiaries under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
“Till date, Rs 52,416 crore has been transferred to beneficiaries under the scheme,” Hebbalkar said.
The scheme, among the five guarantees implemented in Karnataka, was launched in August 2023. A recent study by King’s College London, which hailed the scheme, noted a delay in monthly payments.
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“99.8% of the women stated that they received the full Gruha Lakshmi amount. However, a large portion of beneficiaries experienced delays of more than one month in receiving their payments,” it said.
Among its findings was that the beneficiaries “largely spent on food, household expenses, medicines and children’s fees”. There is also a significant increase in food consumption among beneficiary families, and the scheme enabled women better access to financial infrastructure, the study report said.
“Gruha Lakshmi is pushing women toward mainstream banking systems and strengthening their financial inclusion,” it said.