Loan Subsidy for Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar – Punjab Taxi Scheme for Jobless Youth
After the people of Punjab mandated Captain Amarindar Singh as Chief Minister of the state of Punjab in India, the new CM is all set to fulfill the promises he made during poll rallies. During the rallies, Captain Amarindar Singh – led congress bandwagon came forward with a promise that all jobless youth in Punjab will be given taxis at rates that come heavily subsidized from the end of the state government.
In order to keep the promise made, Amarindar Singh called Uber and Ola – the two largest taxi operators in India and signed a deal. The government of the state of Punjab is now all set to launch the touted draft transport policy – a brand new policy for transport rules in the state. The policy will be launched anytime soon – possibly in the coming weeks.
Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar – that’s the scheme
Just like every government-run scheme (state or central) has a name, this scheme to be launched has also been given a proper name. It is known as Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar. There is no doubt that for long political parties have been riding the unemployment bandwagon to get into power and definitely, Punjab took the bait. As it turns out, Congress party as the ruling party in state is all set to play the trump cards for the general elections of 2019. The Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar scheme makes it clear that the party wants to woo the youth with something that resonates with their needs.
This Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar is all about providing taxis at rates that come heavily subsidized from the state government. The scheme will not ask for any collateral for providing the vehicles. The scheme weaves the promise of providing such vehicles each and every year. Just how many vehicles and what type of vehicles? 1 lakh vehicles a year and all of them will be light commercial vehicles.
Basically, the government will not really buy the taxis and hand them over to the jobless youth of Punjab. Instead, the government will provide loans at highly subsidized rates. The interested youth can take out such loans and buy light commercial vehicles. People who take out these loans will be required to repay the loan over a period of 5 years.
Some Salient Features of Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar Scheme
Here are the salient features of the scheme as outlined by the Punjab government:
- Total of 1 lakh vehicles (light commercial and taxis) will be given every year. Rates will be subsidized by the state government.
- Loans under Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar will not attract any kind of collateral.
- Loan repayment term will be 5 years from the date when the loan will be disbursed.
- Taxis handed over to the youth under this scheme will operate under the brands Uber and Ola.
- Transport Offices in 22 districts of Punjab will be reconstructed for proper implementation of this scheme.
- RTA offices located in Bhatinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Patiala will get complete overhaul.
- Sarathi – the online portal launched under e-Governance will be utilized for accepting license applications.
- Vahan – the online portal launched under e-Governance will be utilized for registering the vehicles given out under this scheme.
- The draft transport policy that will be designed will ensure that jobless youth get the necessary permits so that the scheme becomes successful.
Application for Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar
From the point of view of the jobless Punjabi youth, the Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar is all set to be an immensely successful scheme because it will help the jobless young people to become self-reliant and earn some respect.
Now, talking of the application procedure, nothing has been clarified so far. No one knows whether the subsidy applications will be accepted by the government via offline route or through online channels. Once we get hold of the necessary details, we will try and update you on the same. Keeping checking for updates periodically.
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