As the threat of Covid lingers on, Muthoot Fincorp, one of the leading NBFCs in the country, has launched a compassionate gold loan scheme targeting students who do not have the means to buy smartphones or tabs to attend their online classes.

Titled Restart India Vidya Dhan Gold Loan, the new interest-free loan will be available to up to 1,00,000 applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis through 3,600 plus Muthoot Fincorp branches across India.

In the scheme, loans will be given for up to ₹10,000 per individual for six months and no interest will be charged for a period of up to 90 days. In addition, there will not be any processing charges as well. One applicant will be eligible for only one loan under the scheme, which can be availed by producing the student’s ID card.

Also read: Gold loan defaults within permissible limits, says Thomas John Muthoot

Thomas John Muthoot, Chairman, Muthoot Fincorp, said the scheme is part of the first anniversary of the Restart India Initiative launched during the first lockdown of 2020. “Like the livelihoods of adults, children’s education also is severely affected across the country due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, most of our students do not have the smartphones or tablets necessary to attend online classes. According to sources, the education of nearly 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools was impacted,” he said.

It was Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who inaugurated the Restart India Initiative on July 23 last year. The initiative includes tailor-made loan schemes for the Covid-stricken small-time retailers, advisory service to improve sales, training on digital methods to help marketing and shopping festivals to support the sales directly. Under this initiative, Muthoot Fincorp distributed loans worth ₹20,000 crore to nearly 2.7 million customers in the country’s MSME sector with various discounts and offers.

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