The Bengal government has decided to launch a special campaign across banks, both in public and private sectors, in Bengal between November 2 and 10 to persuade the banks to sanction 60,000 applications under the Bhabishyat Credit Card pending with them.

“The state has received more than 70,000 applications under the Bhabishyat Credit Card after its launch in April 2023. But nearly 60,000 applications are yet to be sanctioned by the banks. The special campaign will be launched to convince the banks to sanction them,” said a senior government official.

Under the plan, district officials will visit bank branches which are yet to give sanction to the applications. They will also try to find out why those applications are not getting the stamp of approval from banks.

“If the banks need further clarifications or need any other documents, the officials will try to arrange those by contacting applicants,” explained an official.

Under the scheme, the state government would be the guarantor for a loan up to Rs 5 lakh for an unemployed youth to set up his or her business.

The government is supposed to give a subsidy up to Rs 25,000 for each of the business initiatives. The state government is depending heavily on this scheme to create income opportunities for jobless youths as Bengal continues to face a barrage of questions over the lack of employment opportunities.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had promised to generate 1.5 crore job opportunities in the state ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.

“But the target could not be achieved due to several reasons including the lack of industries in the state. This scheme is aimed to address the issue to some extent. But the success of the scheme depends on how much the banks cooperate with the government,” said a source.

A section of the officials said that most applications did not get sanctioned by banks as they did not find them viable.

“The state has to be selective and very careful about the applications before forwarding them to the banks. If proper applications are forwarded, it would be tough for banks to reject them. Applicants should be given proper guidance while framing their business proposals,” said a source.

Bureaucrats also pointed out that more youths should be encouraged to apply under the scheme to get good business proposals.

“The target is to bring 2 lakh youths under the scheme every year but this year only 70,000 applications have been received. This makes it clear there is not enough interest among the youths to apply for the scheme,” said a source.

A section of the officials said that the loan amount should be increased from the existing Rs 5 lakh cap to get more applications. “The government has to understand that a good business proposal needs a sum of more than Rs 5 lakh to get started. The government has to be practical if it wants to get more viable business proposals,” said an official.