SBI and Bangalore's private heart hospital Narayana Hrudayalaya on Tuesday launched a novel loan product on a pilot basis for 'poor heart patients undergoing cardiac treatment.'
Officials said Under the SBI Hrudaya Suraksha Scheme, carrying an interest rate of 8.5 per cent, the patient would get as a loan 80 per cent of the total medical expenditure or Rs 50,000 whichever is lower.
The borrower would have to repay the full amount with interest within a maximum period of six months.
Narayana Hrudayala's Chief Dr Devi Shetty said the interest component in the first three months of the repayment period would be borne by his hospital.
The scheme was launched by Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammed Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, Bangladesh, who hailed the initiative,