Rashtriya Mahila Kosh: Outline

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh: Outline

Question: Rashtriya Mahila Kosh / RMK has extended micro-finance opportunities to the poorest and most asset less lady entrepreneurs. Provide an outline of this organisation.

- RMK extends micro-finance to those who are poor and asset less through IMO or Intermediary Organisations for income generation at the rate of 6% simple interest and the loan can be extended to SHG beneficiaries under the 14% simple rate of interest

- The procedure for implementation of RMK is as follows.

- Following receipt of a loan application from an NGO, an appraisal is conducted on a preliminary basis.

- Extra documents/information is needed from the applicant side causing the query letter to be raised

- Following receipt of full set of documents, loan appraisal is conducted

- Decision has been taken for referring this for pre-sanction study through RMK officials or negating the proposal

- Proposals which meet the eligible criteria under RMK and receipt of required documents/information are characterised by a pre-sanction study

- During the time of the pre-sanction study, RMK officers have conducted a visit to the organisation for checking all the books and registers such as vouchers, general ledger, cash book and so on

- The officers also visit SHGs promoted by the NGO and interact with SHG members

- Following the feedback/information collected at the time of field visit, a pre-sanction study report is prepared by the officers

- Following this report, an appraisal note is prepared by the concerned Deputy Director for the Competent Authority

- Competent Authority then considers the relevant facts of the case as contained in appraisal note and sanctions/defers the proposal for submission of further details or refuses it.

- Applicant NGOs are conveying the decision to the concerned authority

- Following the loan sanction by the committee, RMK communicates the sanction to NGOs containing terms and conditions of the sanction

- Following receipt of concerned documents such as utilisation certificate, disbursement certificate, post sanction monitoring study is conducted by RMK officials to verify the end use of funds in accordance with terms and conditions of the sanction letter and quality of fund utilisation

- Following this, at the time of the post sanction visit, RMK officials have verified records, entries in books and more

- After this, women SHGs who have received benefits from the 1st instalment of loan are also visited at random by RMK officials for verifying assets created out of the loan

- In the event of mis-utilisation or misappropriation, the loan can also be recalled by RMK

- In case of default, necessary legal action has to be taken under S138 of Negotiable Instrument Act, filing of civil suit and recovery procedures through appointment of arbitrator are made.

- The defaulting NGOs are blacklisted and debarred from grants or aids by Central/State government agencies

Facts and Stats

The important schemes & other activities of Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) are as under:-

i. Loan Promotion Scheme
ii. Main Loan Scheme
iii. Gold Credit Scheme
iv. Housing Loan Scheme
v. Working Capital Term Loan Scheme
vi. Franchisee Scheme
vii. Re-Finance to Urban Cooperative Banks/ Mahila Cooperative Banks
viii. Nodal Agency Scheme
ix. Awareness Generation
x. Capacity Building & Skill Upgradation
xi. Marketing Linkages
xii. Entrepreneurship Development
xiii. RMK was established in 1993
xiv. This is a national level organisation which is an autonomous unit under the Ministry of Women and Child development
xv. RMK extends micro credit to women entrepreneurs

RMK extends the scheme through promotion of the following :

i. Micro financing,
ii. Enterprise development,
iii. Thrift and credit,
iv. Formation and strengthening of Women-SHGs through IMOs