By TwoCircles.net news desk
New Delhi: Established in 1994, National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation(NMDFC) focus on the economic development of minorities. It provides funds to minorities for self-employment, education, and businesses.
In September 2009, Government of India raised its share capital to 1000 crore. The fund allocated to the agency for the current financial year was 125 crore, according to the information provided by Minister of Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
He also mentioned that NMDFC has prescribed that its lending policy is to be followed by State Channelising Agencies (SCAs) as well as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)- the two arms that implement Corporation’s schemes.
Previously, there have been questions raised about the poor performance of these implementing agencies. In fact, 51 NGOs are facing legal suits by the Corporation to recover over 1.8 crore.
In the latest data available, out of 123 NGOs listed with the Corporation – 45 have below 80% repayment rate. For SCAs, 10 states fall into the list of below 80% recovery states- Manipur, Orissa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Mizoram, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat.
With the latest payment of Rs. 125 crore, Union Government has met all of its commitment for raising the equity of NMDFC. Unfortunately, states continue to show lack of interest for minority welfare. Only 51.5% of states share in the equity or 134 crore out of 260 crore has been contributed till Oct. 2009. Some of the big states that have contributed half of their share are Punjab, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Tamilnadu, Orissa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
Link:
http://www.nmdfc.org/schems&prog.html