Personal Loans for Inmates: How the Maha Government Plans to Help Improve the Living Standards of Inmates’ Families

India

oi-Prakash KL

New Delhi, March 30: In a bid to improve the standard of living for families of prisoners, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday launched a scheme which will provide a loan to the family of a prisoner without a guarantor. At the interest rate of seven percent, the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank will provide loans under the scheme up to Rs 50,000. Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said the scheme would be implemented on a pilot basis at Yerawada Central Jail in Pune.

“It will also be the first innovative loan program in the country to obtain a loan based on income earned by working in a prison. Thanks to this, a social assistance program can materialize and approximately 1,055 inmates can benefit from it. Many detainees are serving long term imprisonment, and since the majority of these detainees are prominent family members, their families may be distraught,” Patil said after a meeting at the Sahyadri guesthouse.

“A feeling in the family that the person who went to prison has failed in his family duties. In such a situation, giving a loan to an inmate for the needs of his family would help to increase the sympathy and love of the family for the detainee and contribute to the maintenance of a healthy family climate”, added the Minister.

loan limit

The bank will consider the length of the prisoner’s sentence, possible sentence relief, age, estimated annual working day and minimum daily income before approving the amount. The loan will not require a guarantor.

The Home Secretary said the loan will be granted without collateral and only on a personal guarantee.

The lending bank will be solely responsible for ensuring that the loan amount is used to meet the needs of the family concerned or to pay their lawyers’ fees or for other legal matters. In addition, 1% of the amount recovered by the bank from the repayment of the loan will be donated annually to the Prisoners’ Welfare Fund, reports ANI.

Article first published: Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 2:29 p.m. [IST]