Kilthan
₹66 cr
of bankable business potential identified by the government in Kilthan.
Source: NABARD PLP 2022-23
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NABARD's plan for Kilthan · PLP 2022-23
₹66 crof bankable credit potential identified by the government
MSME
₹23 cr
Crop production, maintenance & marketing
₹14 cr
Term loans for agriculture & allied activities
₹13 cr
Ancillary activities (incl. food & agro processing)
₹10 cr
Lakshadweep's credit plan for 2022-23 sees about ₹66.13 crore of lending potential across the whole Union Territory - one combined plan covering all 36 islands, including Kilthan. Roughly 57% is farming and allied work (₹37.77 crore) and about 35% is small business/MSME (₹23.19 crore).
The islands live off coconut and the sea. Crop and coconut-garden lending is the biggest single line at ₹13.87 crore, with the Agriculture Department pushing intercropping of vegetables between the palms. Fishing is the standout opportunity at ₹7.04 crore - the surrounding waters hold roughly a lakh tonnes of tuna. A new, women-run seaweed farming push through self-help groups could yield nearly 30,000 tonnes of dry seaweed a year using just 1% of the lagoons. Food and coconut/fish processing adds another ₹9.94 crore, and there is a coconut-processing unit at Kadmat. Because this is a declared No Industry District, the ₹23.19 crore of MSME money is meant only for clean micro units - coir, rope, mats, carpentry, furniture, soap and country boat building - plus tourism under the 2020 policy. The whole territory is now certified 100% organic.
The plan flags real hurdles: only 8 of 180 SHGs are credit-linked and people are reluctant to borrow; there is no local scale of finance or DLTC (Ernakulam's is borrowed); everything must be shipped from the mainland, so costs are high and transport unreliable; and recovery is very poor (16%), with a CD ratio of just 8%.
What the plan promotes
- Coconut is the mainstay of livelihood; total cropped area 2675 ha of 3220 ha - Agriculture Department is popularising intercropping in coconut gardens with short-duration, drought and salinity-tolerant vegetables
- Fisheries is the single largest term-loan opportunity at ₹7.04cr; the sea around Lakshadweep holds an estimated 1 lakh tonnes of tuna and tuna-like fish plus an equal quantity of shark
- Large-scale seaweed farming being promoted as a women-centric enterprise through SHGs - island can produce nearly 30,000 tonnes of dry seaweed a year using just 1% of lagoon area; training started with 10 women SHGs
- Plantation & horticulture credit potential of ₹2.20cr, anchored on coconut and interspace fruit/vegetable cultivation validated by CPCRI Regional Station at Minicoy
- Lakshadweep declared 100% organic (after Sikkim) - entire 32 sq km land area approved as organic under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana on 26 Oct 2020
- Food & agro processing potential of ₹9.94cr, led by coconut grating/processing (a unit exists at Kadmat) and fish processing
Gaps the plan names
- Only 8 of 180 SHGs are credit-linked; strong reluctance to borrow - urgent need for awareness campaigns by Rural Development Department and banks on credit linkage for business expansion
- Overcrowding of coconut palms from lack of recommended spacing keeps adoption of coconut-based cropping low; department must popularise intercropping and banks should introduce flexi credit for Homestead Farms
- No separate scale of finance and no DLTC for Lakshadweep - Ernakulam's scale of finance is borrowed for PLP projections; a DLTC for Lakshadweep is urgently needed
- Being far from the mainland, agriculture depends on the mainland for all inputs, making them costly; unreliable transportation is a major bottleneck limiting major investment
- Very poor credit culture: recovery only 16% (31 March 2021), average recovery under priority-sector lending just 5%, and CD ratio a low 8%
See the plan's recommendations
What the plan promotes
- Coconut is the mainstay of livelihood; total cropped area 2675 ha of 3220 ha - Agriculture Department is popularising intercropping in coconut gardens with short-duration, drought and salinity-tolerant vegetables
- Fisheries is the single largest term-loan opportunity at ₹7.04cr; the sea around Lakshadweep holds an estimated 1 lakh tonnes of tuna and tuna-like fish plus an equal quantity of shark
- Large-scale seaweed farming being promoted as a women-centric enterprise through SHGs - island can produce nearly 30,000 tonnes of dry seaweed a year using just 1% of lagoon area; training started with 10 women SHGs
- Plantation & horticulture credit potential of ₹2.20cr, anchored on coconut and interspace fruit/vegetable cultivation validated by CPCRI Regional Station at Minicoy
- Lakshadweep declared 100% organic (after Sikkim) - entire 32 sq km land area approved as organic under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana on 26 Oct 2020
- Food & agro processing potential of ₹9.94cr, led by coconut grating/processing (a unit exists at Kadmat) and fish processing
Gaps the plan names
- Only 8 of 180 SHGs are credit-linked; strong reluctance to borrow - urgent need for awareness campaigns by Rural Development Department and banks on credit linkage for business expansion
- Overcrowding of coconut palms from lack of recommended spacing keeps adoption of coconut-based cropping low; department must popularise intercropping and banks should introduce flexi credit for Homestead Farms
- No separate scale of finance and no DLTC for Lakshadweep - Ernakulam's scale of finance is borrowed for PLP projections; a DLTC for Lakshadweep is urgently needed
- Being far from the mainland, agriculture depends on the mainland for all inputs, making them costly; unreliable transportation is a major bottleneck limiting major investment
- Very poor credit culture: recovery only 16% (31 March 2021), average recovery under priority-sector lending just 5%, and CD ratio a low 8%
Value-chain gaps
Money this district loses today
Raw output sold cheap, value added elsewhere — each gap below is an opening for a local business.
Resources
What this district has
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