Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation (KMDC)

Start with the scheme that matches your need

KMDC's schemes are not interchangeable, and each one has its own eligibility. Match your situation first:

• Studying in India: Arivu, if you are selected through CET or NEET.
• Studying abroad: the Foreign Education Loan Scheme, which needs a property mortgage.
• Starting or growing a business: the Direct Business Loan Scheme, which needs a property mortgage. Shramashakthi if you also want skill training.
• Buying a taxi, goods vehicle or autorickshaw: the Swawalambi Sarathi vehicle subsidy, after a bank loan is sanctioned.
• Farming in a rural area: Ganga Kalyana, after confirming it is still taking applications.

Check the requirements that apply to you

• Most schemes need membership of a minority community and set a family income limit.
• The foreign study loan and the direct business loan both need a property mortgage, worth at least the loan amount.
• Business loan applicants must be 18 to 55, and only one business loan is given per family.

How applications work

• Arivu applications are made online through the corporation's portal. Renewal applicants pay a share of the loan disbursed in the previous year.
• Swawalambi Sarathi starts with the bank. Only applicants whose vehicle loan is sanctioned are eligible.
• Shramashakthi applications are made online.
• The foreign study loan, the direct business loan and Ganga Kalyana do not state an application route on their scheme pages. Ask the head office in Bengaluru before you prepare documents.

How selection works

• Arivu: selection is through CET or NEET.
• Swawalambi Sarathi: the Deputy Commissioner of the district chairs the body that decides.
• Shramashakthi: the MLA of the applicant's assembly constituency chairs the body that decides.
• Direct business loan: a committee approves the loan, and selected applicants receive a committee approval order.

Before you rely on a scheme

• The site presents Ganga Kalyana as a current scheme, but the 2025-26 beneficiary report does not list it. Confirm it is open before you prepare an application.
• Scheme names differ between the site and the report. Use the name on the scheme page when you ask the head office.

Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation Limited (KMDC) is a Government of Karnataka undertaking that gives loans and subsidies to members of minority communities in the state. It was established on 7 February 1986 to improve the social, educational and economic status of minority communities, and its head office is in Bengaluru.

How the programmes work

KMDC's site, published in English and Kannada, lists six schemes: two education loans, two business loans and two subsidies. Education loans are paid by direct benefit transfer to the student's college bank account.

Interest terms differ by scheme. The business loans carry 4% or 6% interest depending on family income, and the Shramashakthi loan carries 4%. The education loan has a 2% per annum service charge, starting six months after the course ends. The foreign study loan is interest-free for families below the income limit. The business and foreign study loans need a property mortgage, while the other schemes do not mention one. A founder who wants money to start a business should look first at the Direct Business Loan Scheme, and at Shramashakthi if skill training is also wanted.

The corporation's main objective, as its about page states, is to extend loan facility to the poorest among minorities, and to provide social justice, infrastructure, education and employment.

The corporation's 2025-26 beneficiary report also lists schemes that the site does not describe, including a Vrutti Protsaha Loan Scheme, an Incentive Scheme for Sericulture Reelers and a Startup Scheme. The site gives no details for them, so this page leaves them out.

Who can apply

Eligibility depends on the scheme. Its schemes are aimed at members of minority communities, and most loans also set a family income limit, which the scheme pages state. The business loan needs Karnataka residency, an applicant aged 18 to 55, and a property mortgage, and only one business loan is given per family. The foreign study loan needs at least 60% marks in the previous year, an offer letter from a foreign university and a mortgage of property. Education loans go to students selected through CET or NEET under the Government quota. The vehicle subsidy needs a bank loan to be sanctioned first. Each scheme names who decides: a committee for the business loan, the Deputy Commissioner of the district for the vehicle subsidy, the local MLA for Shramashakthi, and CET or NEET results for education loans. Each scheme page sets out its own eligibility, so read the page for the scheme you want before you apply.

Scale

The corporation's 2025-26 beneficiary report, dated 7 July 2026, gives a total of 15,148 beneficiaries across the schemes it lists. Most of them are education loan students: 12,734 are on the Arivu scheme, fresh and renewal together. The report counts beneficiaries, not startups. It lists 45 beneficiaries of the direct business loan and 888 of the Shramashakthi loan. These are the corporation's own figures. The total includes schemes the site does not describe, so it is not a count of the six schemes on this page. The scheme pages do not show open or closing dates, so ask the head office for the current intake before you plan around a deadline.

Who runs it

KMDC was established under the Companies Act 1956 and functions under the supervision of the state's minorities welfare department. Its board of directors and managing director are listed on its site.

Locations

The registered office is in Bengaluru, at K M D C Bhavan on Subedhar Chatra Road in Sheshadripuram. The corporation also has district offices in every district headquarters in the state. The events page had no news listed when checked.