Nepal Concessional Loan Schemes (Sahuliyatpurna Karja): 2082 Directory

Nepal's concessional loan programme, popularly called sahuliyatpurna karja, is a government interest-subsidy scheme designed to widen access to affordable credit for production, self-employment and entrepreneurship. Under it, banks and financial institutions (BFIs) lend at their normal rate, but the Government of Nepal pays a fixed slice of the interest directly to the lender, so the borrower's effective cost is sharply reduced. The scheme is governed by the Procedure for Interest Subsidy on Concessional Loans, 2082 BS (2025 AD), issued by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), which replaced the earlier Unified Procedure of 2075 BS (2018 AD).

The 2082 procedure marked a major rewrite. The number of subsidized loan categories was trimmed from ten to eight, and the subsidy rate was flattened to a single figure across almost all categories. Higher and technical-education loans, earthquake housing-reconstruction loans, textile-industry loans and vocational-training loans were dropped, while two new categories, startup-enterprise loans and industrial boiler-replacement loans, were added.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, operationalises the scheme through amendments to its Unified Directive to BFIs. The 2082 revisions also introduced tighter transparency: BFIs must publish quarterly lists of concessional-loan borrowers on their websites, reporting the older 2075-framework loans and the newer 2082-procedure loans separately. This directory summarises the eight categories, the 3% subsidy rule, indicative loan caps and the separate NRB directed-lending mandate.

The headline change in the 2082 procedure is a uniform interest subsidy of 3 percentage points across the categories. Previously, women entrepreneurs enjoyed a 6% subsidy while most other borrowers received 5%, so the flat 3% represents a significant reduction. The government meets 3 percentage points of the interest bill, and the BFI recovers the remainder from the borrower. For very large commercial agriculture and livestock loans above Rs 50 million (Rs 5 crore), reporting indicates the subsidy is limited to 2 percentage points rather than 3.

To protect borrowers, the 2082 rules cap what BFIs may add. Banks may charge up to a set margin over their published base rate (reported at roughly 1.05 to 1.5 percentage points above base rate for these loans, tightened from the earlier 2-point allowance). BFIs are also barred from levying charges beyond loan interest, credit-information fees and mandatory insurance, and, once a concessional limit is sanctioned, it cannot later be enlarged.

The interest subsidy runs for a fixed term, up to five years, and loans are structured for repayment within that window, often with a grace period. The scheme itself is time-bound: reporting indicates it is set to operate only until mid-2030 (Ashadh 2087 BS). Because the subsidy is a budgetary transfer, the government sets an annual ceiling on total subsidy outlay, so approvals depend on available fiscal space in a given year.

Under the 2082 procedure, interest subsidy is available for eight loan types. These are: (1) commercial agriculture and livestock loans; (2) women-entrepreneur loans (mahila udhyamsil karja); (3) youth self-employment loans, aimed at youths who have returned from foreign employment; (4) educated-youth self-employment or project loans; (5) Dalit-community Bhagat-Sarbajit enterprise-development loans; (6) startup-enterprise loans; (7) industrial boiler-replacement loans; and (8) private-housing loans for victims of natural disasters.

Each category has a maximum loan size, and several caps were raised in the 2082 revision to reflect inflation and to widen coverage. According to reporting on the amended procedure, the women-entrepreneur cap rose from Rs 1.5 million to Rs 2.5 million; the youth self-employment (returnee-migrant) cap doubled from Rs 1 million to Rs 2 million; the educated-youth project cap rose from Rs 700,000 to Rs 2 million; and the Dalit Bhagat-Sarbajit cap rose from Rs 1 million to Rs 2 million. Startup loans were reported at up to Rs 2.5 million, industrial boiler-replacement at up to about Rs 5 million (some reporting cites Rs 2.5 million), and disaster-victim housing at up to Rs 500,000. Commercial agriculture and livestock loans remain capped at Rs 50 million.

These caps are set by procedure and directive and can change with each amendment, so they should be treated as indicative. Always confirm the current maximum, subsidy rate and eligibility for a specific category against the latest MoF procedure and NRB Unified Directive before applying, because a figure that was accurate on the date of writing may be revised in a subsequent circular.

The women-entrepreneur loan (mahila udhyamsil karja) is among the most searched categories and is aimed at supporting women-owned micro and small enterprises. Under the 2082 procedure its ceiling was raised to Rs 2.5 million, and it now carries the same flat 3% subsidy as other categories rather than the higher 6% subsidy it received under the 2075 framework. The loan is intended for productive enterprise, and eligibility and collateral requirements are governed by the procedure and the lending BFI's assessment.

The youth self-employment loan targets Nepalis who have returned from foreign employment and wish to establish a livelihood at home; its cap doubled to Rs 2 million under the 2082 revision. The educated-youth loan supports project-based self-employment for qualified young people, with its cap raised sharply to Rs 2 million. The Dalit-community Bhagat-Sarbajit enterprise-development loan, named to promote enterprise among Dalit households, also rose to a Rs 2 million ceiling.

These categories reflect the scheme's core social-inclusion objectives: raising internal employment, encouraging returnee reintegration, and channelling affordable credit to women, youth and historically excluded communities. Applicants typically apply through a licensed BFI, which underwrites the loan and then claims the interest subsidy from the government; the subsidy is not paid to the borrower in cash.

Borrowers should distinguish between two different startup schemes that are easy to confuse. First, under the 2082 Interest Subsidy Procedure, startup-enterprise loans are a newly added concessional category carrying the flat 3% subsidy, reported at up to Rs 2.5 million and delivered through commercial BFIs. Second, and separately, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) runs a dedicated Startup Enterprise Loan Program under its own operating procedure, administered through the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI).

The MoICS/IEDI startup programme provides collateral-free concessional loans, reported at roughly Rs 500,000 up to Rs 2.5 million, at 3% interest, with selection based on a project-evaluation score (reporting indicates a minimum threshold of around 50% marks). Eligible enterprises must generally be independent, registered as a firm, company, partnership or cooperative, based on an innovative idea with growth potential, and must not have previously received a government concessional or startup loan. This project-based, collateral-light approach treats a bankable business plan itself as a form of security.

Because these two tracks have different administering bodies, application routes, evaluation methods and eligibility rules, a would-be borrower should first decide which scheme fits, then read that scheme's specific procedure. Deep links to the MoF and MoICS procedures are provided in the sources below; the caps and evaluation criteria are periodically revised.

Separate from the interest-subsidy scheme, Nepal Rastra Bank operates a directed, or prescribed, sector-lending mandate that compels commercial banks to allocate minimum shares of their total loan portfolio to priority sectors. This is a portfolio-composition requirement, not an interest subsidy: it obliges banks to lend to strategically important areas of the economy regardless of who pays the interest. The two instruments work together to push credit toward agriculture, energy and enterprise.

As of the fiscal year ending Ashadh 2082 BS (mid-2025 AD), NRB required commercial banks to maintain minimum lending shares of approximately 11% to agriculture, 6.5% to energy, and 11% to micro, cottage, small and medium enterprises (MCSME/MSME), with penalties for shortfalls. NRB has also signalled an intent to broaden directed lending to newer priority areas such as tourism and information technology, and in 2082 it introduced a mechanism allowing banks to trade reporting rights for agriculture and energy loans to help meet their ratios.

These percentages are set by the NRB Monetary Policy and Unified Directive and are revised periodically, so the exact targets and the classification of eligible loans should be checked against the current directive. State-owned banks such as Agriculture Development Bank typically exceed the agriculture target by a wide margin, while private banks meet the mandates to varying degrees each quarter.

For most concessional categories, borrowers apply directly to a licensed bank or financial institution, which appraises the project, sanctions the loan at its base rate plus the capped margin, and then claims the government interest subsidy on the borrower's behalf. For the MoICS/IEDI startup programme, applications are routed through the dedicated startup-loan channel and evaluated on a project score rather than solely on collateral. Documentation typically includes enterprise registration, a project or business plan, and identity and eligibility proofs specific to the category.

Several caveats matter. The loan caps, subsidy rate, bank-margin cap and even the list of eligible categories are set by procedure and directive and change with amendments; the figures in this directory reflect reporting on the 2082 procedure at the time of writing and are indicative, not a substitute for the current official document. The scheme is budget-constrained and time-bound (reported to run until mid-2030), so approvals in any year depend on available subsidy allocation.

Before applying, verify the latest cap and rate for your category against the Ministry of Finance procedure and the NRB Unified Directive, and confirm eligibility, collateral and repayment terms with the lending BFI. Because BFIs must now publish borrower lists quarterly, prospective applicants can also gauge how actively a given bank is disbursing under each category.