SBI offers conditional health loans to poor heart patients

Taking a great initiative country’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India has launched a novice welfare health scheme Tuesday on a pilot basis for the poor heart patients undergoing cardiac treatment to get easy bank loans at low interest rates under SBI’s ‘Hrudaya Suraksha Scheme.’

The scheme is the outcome of tie-up between SBI and Narayana Hrudayalaya, a private hospital and is restricted to only those patients who are going under cardiac treatment at Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya.

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The loan product scheme was launched by 2006 Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is also a founder of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh in the presence of SBI Chairman O P Bhatt and RBI Deputy Governor V Leeladhar.

“SBI has been taking several initiatives to reach out to the larger sections of the society and the new loan scheme is aimed at helping the poor to undergo heart surgeries was one such initiative. The bank will come out with many more complex products in association with Narayana Hrudayalaya in the future,” the SBI chairman opined.

Under the terms of the scheme, the SBI will offer loan amount of 80% of the total expenditure or Rs 50,000 whichever is lower, at the interest rate of 8.5% per annum. The beneficiary will be required to repay the loan in six months and will be exempted from interest for the first three months. After three months the loan will have to be repaid at an interest rate of 8.5%. For the first three month interest will be paid by the hospital.

As per the conditions of the scheme, the loan will be offered only to those poor patients, whose names would be recommended by the hospital administration. The bank expects initially 30-50 patients will be assisted with the loan scheme.

Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman and managing director, Narayana Hrudayalaya said, “We need to bring in innovative schemes and investments to shore up healthcare cover in the country. Healthcare, especially heartcare, needs huge investments. The present demand is 25 lakh heart procedures a year, but only 80,000 procedures are carried out across various hospitals.”

“Once the concept becomes successful, the same plan can be rolled out in other health cities of Narayana Hrudayalaya in Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Jamshedpur,” he added.