New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Central Public Sector Enterprise National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) through its concessional credit-based schemes improved entrepreneurship, self-employment and socio-economic conditions of the eligible Scheduled Caste persons, an official statement said on Monday.

Around 93.34 per cent of the beneficiaries utilised the financial assistance for the intended purpose, demonstrating the effectiveness of the NSFDC’s lending mechanisms and monitoring systems.

Nearly 93.54 per cent of the beneficiaries continue to possess the assets created through NSFDC assistance reflecting the sustainability and productive use of the loans provided under various schemes. Further, 8.98 per cent of the beneficiaries crossed the annual family income threshold of Rs 3 lakh.

Proportion of beneficiaries with annual family incomes between Rs 1.50 lakh and Rs 3 lakh increased from 32.61 per cent to 46.28 per cent through the assistance.

Similarly, the proportion of beneficiaries with annual incomes below Rs 1.50 lakh declined from 67.39 per cent to 44.74 per cent while 81.30 per cent of the beneficiaries reported an improvement in their social status, the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment said.

Self-employment among beneficiaries rose from 46.62 per cent to 73.95 per cent due to the assistance. Notable, share of non-agricultural self-employment activities rose from 35.64 per cent to 59.42 per cent.

Out of 705 women who were identified as homemakers before receiving financial assistance, 674 women subsequently became self-employed.

Over 58 per cent of respondents reported a significant improvement in their social standing, while another 23 per cent reported moderate improvement. Overall, over 81 per cent of beneficiaries acknowledged that the assistance received under NSFDC schemes contributed positively to their social and economic advancement.

The study conducted by an external agency M/s Development Oriented Operations Research and Surveys (DOORS) during FY26, covered a sample of 5,480 beneficiaries of schemes from 2021 to 2024 across eleven states and Union Territories.

—IANS

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