Low Interest Loans for Tibetan Sweater Sellers

By Sarah Mills-Hicks / April 15, 2017;

Dr Lobsang Sangay

An INR 100-million loan scheme [$1,550,000/ £1,230,000] for Tibetan sweater sellers was announced by Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the leader of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, on April 6.

Speaking at the Tibetan Refugee Traders Association’s (TRTA) General Body Meeting at Ludhiana earlier this month, Sikyong elaborated on the terms and aims of this scheme.

Funded primarily by USAID and partly by the Tibetan Government’s Department of Finance, the scheme offers low interest loans with the aim of providing relief to seasonal Tibetan workers. To ensure that as many people benefit from the scheme as possible the total sum will be distributed to some 100 sweater associations. This interest rate will be set at 3% for a six month period, if the loan is not returned within this period the rate of interest will rise in line with the market rate.

Dr Kunchok Tsundue, Chief Planning Officer and coordinator of the Hosiery Loan Scheme (HLS) said, “This [loan] is especially for those with low capital, new to the trade, for those who were unable to get a loan from banks, and also to matriarchal families”.
The loan will provide new avenues for development for disenfranchised business owners. However, only documented members of the registered chapters of TRTA are eligible.

The seasonal hosiery trade provides approximately 45% of the Tibetan exile community in India with their primary source of income. In the past, traders have had to resort to high interest loans of between 8-18%. The scheme will benefit around 1,000 families.
Sikyong said this initiative for the socio-economic empowerment of approximately 30% of Tibetan traders fits under the framework of the Kashag’s five-fifty vision which vision aims at achieving a self-sufficient Tibetan exile community whilst simultaneously strengthening and developing the Central Tibetan Administration.

This loan scheme is expected to generate approximately INR 30 Lakh [$ 46,882.2/ £ 36,521.68], thus providing for similar schemes to be launched for summer sweater sellers and farmers and bringing the CTA a step closer to their goals.