'Women sex workers, HIV+ patients to get easy loans in C'garh'

The Chhattisgarh government has decided to provide loans to women HIV positive patients and sex workers at nominal rates to enable them to take up self-employment activities, a state official said.
"To associate HIV positive women and female sex workers with economic activities, they would be provided with personal and group loans under the loan scheme of 'Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh'," a public relation official here said today.
Under the scheme, these women would be provided personal loan of Rs 10,000 and group loan of Rs 1 lakh at nominal annual interest rate of 3 per cent, he said.
The state's Women and Child Development department has issued a circular to all District Collectors and other concerned officials in this regard.

As per the circular, women who are HIV-affected or involved in paid sex would be given loans, so as to help them take up economic activities for self-employment.
This loan would be provided on the basis of the eligibility after the beneficiaries produce medical certificate issued by a government doctor, it said.
The loans would be sanctioned after the proposal in this regard presented through District Manager of Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh gets approved by the District Collector concerned, it said.
The state's Women and Child Development department has been running the Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh loan scheme since 2003 to provide easy loans to women self-help groups.