Jammu: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Thursday called for a comprehensive framework to boost tourism-led livelihoods and expand institutional credit access in rural areas by promoting homestays and enabling lending through SVAMITVA cards across Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Secretary was chairing a high-level meeting attended by the Principal Secretary (Finance), Managing Director of J&K Bank, Secretary (Labour & Employment), Director (Employment), Managing Director (JKTDC), and other senior officials.
During the review, Dulloo urged J&K Bank to actively support community-based tourism, ease credit facilities for homestay operators, and help unlock the economic potential of rural property through SVAMITVA-linked financing. He called for developing dedicated systems to institutionalize these initiatives across the Union Territory.
He also instructed the Labour & Employment Department to seek technical support from BISAG-N for building an end-to-end digital solution that would make SVAMITVA cards a seamless platform for availing bank credit through a simplified and time-bound process.
Briefing the meeting, J&K Bank Managing Director Amitava Chatterjee said the bank has rolled out a dedicated loan product for tourism department–registered homestays. The scheme offers easy and affordable financing — up to ₹5 lakh per room, with a maximum cap of ₹30 lakh per homestay unit.
He added that loans carry an 8.20% interest rate (linked to RLLR), a repayment period of up to 60 months, and include collateral-free options for loans up to ₹10 lakh. Additionally, a moratorium of six months helps ease repayment pressure for new operators.
Chatterjee informed that 81 homestays have already benefited from the scheme with a total credit disbursement of ₹5.5 crore. About 80% of registered homestays have been digitally onboarded, with efforts underway to achieve full inclusion. Bank branches near major tourist areas have been directed to proactively reach out to eligible operators.
To encourage higher credit uptake, the product has recently been revised to make it more customer-friendly. Lists of registered homestays have been shared with zonal and cluster offices to strengthen outreach and ensure fast-tracked loan processing.
The meeting also reviewed J&K Bank’s measures to promote SVAMITVA-based lending, designed to help rural property owners use their land as formal financial assets, thereby strengthening the rural credit ecosystem.
Chief Secretary Dulloo appreciated the bank’s alignment with government priorities of tourism promotion, rural empowerment, and economic formalisation. He emphasised the need for rapid beneficiary onboarding, intensified outreach, and coordinated efforts among J&K Bank, the Tourism Department, and local administrations.
Dulloo directed officials to scale up both initiatives in mission mode, particularly in rural and offbeat destinations, to spur employment generation and strengthen Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism ecosystem.
