PRAYAGRAJ Posters promising loan sanction within 24 hours under the ‘Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana’(PMMY) have come up in various localities of Prayagraj, especially those with a large number of women and students like Allahpur, Daraganj and Rajapur.
According to the district lead bank, Bank of Baroda (Prayagraj), the PMMY loans are not for students but for non-corporate, non-farm sector income-generating activities of micro and small enterprises whose credit needs are below Rs 1 million.
However, the posters guarantee sanction of loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh with 30% to 50% rebate on processing fee for women and students. It also invites individuals to become agents for the firm.
A call to the number advertised in the posters evokes a prompt response with a direct query: How much loan do you need? A quote of an amount immediately results in demand for copies of the PAN card, Aadhaar card and bank passbook.
The receiver is quick to point out that on receiving these documents, an account number will be provided to the applicant to deposit Rs 1450 as processing fee. “This will result in immediate sanction of the required loan and transfer of the amount to the applicant’s bank account within 24 hours,” the man on the other side said. Interest on the loan, he said, will be 4% per month.
Calling himself Sandeep Sharma, the man claims to be sitting in Lucknow and that he is not from any bank but there to facilitate the loans to applicants. Questioned further, he said: “You want a loan or my interview?”, before disconnecting the call.
{{/usCountry}}Calling himself Sandeep Sharma, the man claims to be sitting in Lucknow and that he is not from any bank but there to facilitate the loans to applicants. Questioned further, he said: “You want a loan or my interview?”, before disconnecting the call.
{{/usCountry}}“These posters that have come up in different parts of the city are being investigated by the crime branch. I have also sought details from all police stations regarding any complaint of fraud registered in this connection,” SSP (Prayagraj) Satyarth Aniruddha Pankaj said.
To note, banks themselves are inviting interested individuals to directly apply for PMMY loans which are collateral-free loans under the scheme for providing loans of up to Rs 1 million.
Under the aegis of PMMY, the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd has created three products i.e., ‘Shishu’, ‘Kishore’ and ‘Tarun’ as per the stage of growth and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit. These schemes cover different loan amounts. Shishu (cover loans up to Rs 50,000), Kishore (cover loans above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh) and Tarun (cover loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 1 million).
All non-corporate small business segment (NCSBS) comprising proprietorship or partnership firms running as small manufacturing units, service sector units, shopkeepers, fruits/vegetable vendors, truck operators, food-service units, repair shops, machine operators, small industries, food processors and others in rural and urban areas, are eligible for assistance under the PMMY.
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When the bank applied for a ‘loan’
District lead bank manager (Bank of Baroda Prayagraj) ON Singh called up the advertised number. After being told that the loan will get sanctioned at an interest of 4% per month, Singh pointed out that that would translate into a whopping 48% annual interest, against 9% or so, on which the banks are providing loans. Upset, the man on the other side, then asked him to get the loan from the bank itself and disconnected the call.
“This is a fraud. I will ask students and women to beware. Anybody wanting a loan under PMMY should contact the bank and get all the details,” Singh said.