What this scheme offers
Swavalambi Sarathi helps unemployed youth buy a commercial vehicle and earn their living as a driver-owner. Once a bank has sanctioned a loan for the vehicle, the state pays a subsidy on its cost: 75% up to ₹4 lakh for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe applicants, and 50% up to ₹3 lakh for OBC and minority applicants; a passenger autorickshaw is capped lower, at about ₹75,000. The scheme runs through separate corporations — the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation (KMDC) for religious minorities, the SC and ST corporations, and the Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation for OBCs — each with its own portal and income limit. Taxis, goods vehicles and passenger autorickshaws are covered; private cars are not, and KMDC gives priority to women.
Who is eligible
- A permanent resident of Karnataka belonging to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Backward Class (OBC) or religious minority.
- KMDC lists an age of 18 to 55 years for minority applicants, and no member of the applicant's family should be a state, central or public-sector employee.
- Annual family income limits differ by corporation: ₹1.5 lakh rural and ₹2 lakh urban for SC/ST, and KMDC has listed ₹6 lakh for minorities — check your own corporation.
- A valid commercial driving licence and a bank loan sanction for the vehicle are needed.
- The vehicle must be a taxi, goods vehicle or passenger autorickshaw — not a private car.
Documents required
- Valid commercial driving licence
- Caste or minority certificate, as applicable
- Income certificate
- Aadhaar card and proof of Karnataka residence
- Proforma invoice or quotation for the vehicle from an authorised dealer
- Bank loan sanction letter
- Passport-size photograph
How to apply
- Identify your corporation: KMDC for minorities, the SC or ST development corporation, or the Backward Classes Development Corporation for OBCs.
- Apply on that corporation's portal or through Seva Sindhu, uploading the licence, certificates and vehicle quotation.
- The corporation scrutinises the application and recommends it to a bank.
- Once the bank sanctions the loan for the vehicle, the corporation sanctions the subsidy.
- The subsidy is released, reportedly to the dealer, when the vehicle is delivered.