The government on Tuesday said that automated finance platform Capitaword is almost owned by public sector institutions and the choice of ‘capita’ word as a service provider for the 59 minutes loan was done through a bidding process.

There are concerns about Capitaworld's 59-minute loan platform as questions have been raised on the company's ownership, board members and fees charged.

The company chose to set up psbloansin59minutes.com, a platform to that sanctions loans. Those who are is seeking a loan, needs to fill up forms and provide details on this website.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a programme to approve loan requests of up to Rs 1 crore for small- and medium-sized businesses within 59 minutes, as he tries to woo a large voting block ahead of a series of elections.

In terms of ownership, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and SIDBI are the primary owners of Capitaworld, the government said.

Going forward, once the level of transactions reaches a certain stage, it is possible that state-owned banks ownership of Capitaworld will go up to around 76 percent.

In terms of queries raised on fees, an amount of Rs 1,180 is charged only once and if the application is successful, a large part of that is given to service providers.

First Published:Nov 6, 2018 7:50 PM IST