AP Govt to support SC/STs industrial units

Hyderabad, Jun 7 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Government has chalked out an ambitious entrepreneurship development programme for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, by setting aside Rs 2,500 crore for providing grant to Industrial units started by them, Smallscale Industries Minister G Surya Rao said today.

The Government would shortly issue a Government Order (GO) to enable the State Finance Corporation stand guarantee for loans secured by SC/ST entrepreneurs, he told a press conference here.

Each new unit started by SC/ST entrepreneur would be provided 15 per cent of the project cost as grant, subject to a maximum amount of Rs 50 lakh per unit.

SC and ST entrepreneurs would be advanced loans at a subsidised interest rate of three per cent, he said.

''We planned to support at least 5,000 units this year,'' he said, adding a team of officials had been sent to China to study the measures taken by its Government to promote smallscale industries there.

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