‘Several get benefit from Brahmin Corporation’

Tirupati: Mannem Padmavathi, who was struggling to maintain her two-member family including her aged mother, never dreamt of any financial help to start a small business for her family living.

The woman, who is in her fifties found the maintenance of her family with her meager earning as a cook difficult and was longing to start a small business to improve income for a stress-free life.

She tried her best to get loan from banks but in vain while her siblings also not financially sound to support her.

Against the gloomy backdrop, luck smiled at her in the form a family friend, who took her to AP Brahmin Cooperative Credit Society Coordinator Hanumantha Rao, resulting in her getting a group loan of Rs 45,000 under ‘Arundati’ scheme. She set up an ‘Instant Wet Rice Grinder’ in her home taking up grinding of wet rice which has good demand in her locality Ramachandra Nagar here. “Now, my earning is enough to feed both of us and also buy medicines for my aged mother,’’ she said beamingly.

Another woman Paluri Padmavathi, a commercial artist availed Rs 10 lakh loan under ‘Chanakya’ scheme of AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation to develop her existing Kalamkari production centre in Srikalahasti.

“The loan from Brahmin Corporation gave me a new lease of life by taking up large production to have more business and also employment to ten women. But for the Brahmin Corporation, I would not have had a big loan so smoothly. It is a turning point in my life,” she said.

Loans under Chanakya scheme was given to 43 with a total of about Rs 70 lakh for self-employment while 67 group loans at lower interests were also provided under ‘Arundati’ scheme benefitting about 200 Brahmin women in Chittoor district.

Another beneficiary Chiranjeevi got Rs 10 lakh from the AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation for studying abroad. His father D Balasubramanyam, a priest in Srikalahasti temple, speaking to The Hans India turned emotional while narrating his failed attempts to get loan from banks.

“My son was in dejected mood after I failed to arrange him the money for his study. At last, the Brahmin Corporation fulfilled my son realises his dream,” he averred.

The government set up the AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation in December 2014 and later AP Brahmin Credit Cooperative Society in October 2015 to work closely with the Brahmin Corporation to supplement its efforts in expanding credit to the financially-weak members of the community.

The AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation is implementing seven different schemes Gayathri, Bharathi, Vasista, Dronacharya, Chanakya, Kasyapa and Garuda while credit society meant for only group loans Arundati and Vasishta schemes for men and women separately.

One of the schemes that benefitted more was ‘Bharathi’ scholarship covering about 1,000 students getting a total of Rs 1.03 crore (ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 rupees) and ‘Kasypa’ old age pension scheme providing monthly Rs 1,000 as pension to 436 persons in Chittoor district.

Hanumantha Rao said within a short span of two years, these two institutions saw about 3,000 poor Brahmins benefitted in the district.

Setting up a separate corporation made easy for the Brahmins getting loans and providing them the much-needed financial support, he said citing five students getting Rs 10 lakh each from Brahmin Corporation for studying abroad.

Still more people are not aware of Corporation, he said, explaining the efforts taken by Corporation to promote its schemes for the benefit of Brahmins.