TSMFC beset with low allocations for bank-linked schemes

The Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation (TSMFC), an agency of the Minorities Welfare Department, which deals with economic support schemes – on the one hand is beset with lower budgets and a large number of applications, and on the other, paucity of staff.

According to information obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005, by ASEEM, a non-governmental organisation, the sanctioned strength of the agency is 60, and there is a vacancy of 41 people.

The document also lays bare the allocation and the actual expenditure of bank-linked schemes. The scheme hands over loans to applicants with a subsidy, depending on the amount applied for.

In FY 2020-21, the allocation for this was ₹28.31 crore.

While ₹21.23 crore was released, the expenditure was ₹15 crore.

According to sources, while there has not been a halt in disbursal of these loans, the TSMFC is overwhelmed by the number of pending applications. “The corporation has not stopped these loans. It is just that disbursal now depends on the allocation. At the moment, the corporation wants to clear the old applicants, which are thousands in number, on priority.

A file has been circulated to this effect, and we are positive that it will come through,” the source said.

“The case of the bank-linked schemes is like the driver-cum-owner (driver empowerment) scheme. The plan was to hand over fixed number cars to drivers, but the number of applications received was around 14,000,” the source explained.

In another case, that of the Centre for Educational Development of Minorities, which delivers coaching to students from minority communities for competitive exams, as well as for job seekers, too has seen a reduction of allocations.

While the budget from FY 2014-15 to 2017-18 was ₹3 crore, in 2019-2020, the allocation was ₹1.32 crore and the expenditure was ₹1 crore.

Speaking to The Hindu, an office-bearer of the NGO said, “While it is a good thing that substantial budgetary allocations are being made to the Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society, there is also a need to foster entrepreneurship to those who want to take up small businesses by means of the bank-linked schemes. It appears that the CEDM should do more to publicise and attract students.”