India`s Gulf returnees want to set up businesses |
Many expatriates who returned to the Indian state of Kerala from other countries after the Covid-19 outbreak are planning to start their own business in their home state. A large number of them are from the Gulf region. In the last six months, 4,897 expats have registered with the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department Project for the Returned Emigrants scheme. The scheme facilitates emigrants to start their own business. The number of registrations is much higher than last year when the government had received only 1,043 registrations. In the years before that, the numbers were always less than 1,000. In the past, most people showed interest in getting into service-focused business activities like running a cab. However, the new bunch of proposals seek to set up small businesses like restaurants, snack shops, workshops, oil mills, masala powder units, sport hubs, gyms and farms. According to officials, the scheme right now provided loans of up to 40,000 USD, and the government would increase it to 68,000 USD. This will enable more non-residents to start better ventures generating more job opportunities. Eighteen financial institutions in Kerala are cooperating with the government in implementing the scheme. The concerned department has signed up with Kerala Financial Corporation to provide loans of up to 68,000 $ to expatriates for starting ventures. This year, it aims to help 5,000 expatriates start their own businesses.
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