Government schemes for women in Ladakh, about ₹3 lakh to open a homestay

Also called Employment exchange Ladakh, Employment registration Leh, Employment registration Kargil, DECC Leh, DECC Kargil

Registration as a job seeker, matching with government and private employers, and career counselling

Register your name, skills and education at the district employment centre so that employers who ask the centre for candidates can find you. The centre also gives career guidance and runs registration camps in the blocks.

Status

Registration runs all year at the Leh and Kargil centres, which also hold block-level registration camps; checked 25 October 2026.

Who can apply

• Unemployed youth of Leh and Kargil districts
• Students and job seekers who want career guidance

How to apply

1. Go to the District Employment and Counselling Centre in Leh or Kargil, or to a mobile registration camp in your block
2. Register with your education and skill details
3. Watch the LAHD-SSRB and KAHD-SSRB notices for district cadre posts, and apply to each post yourself

In person: District Employment and Counselling Centre, Leh (01982-252249) or Kargil (9419177195)

Run by

Labour and Employment Department, UT of Ladakh (District Employment and Counselling Centres, Leh and Kargil)

Registration does not give a job by itself. Since 1996 government departments may also invite applications directly, so she must still apply to each advertised post.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Employment Department, District Employment and Counselling Centre, Kargil · Official page to apply

Also called Handloom training centre Ladakh, Handicraft training centre Leh, Thakzo Yargyas, carpet weaving training Ladakh, artisan trainee stipend

Craft training in village centres for 6 months to 2 years with a stipend while you learn; trained weavers can then get machines and tools at 75% off

Learn weaving, spinning, knitting, tailoring, carpet weaving, wood carving, embroidery, thangka painting or other Ladakhi crafts at a training centre near your village, and get a small stipend during the course. After training, the Handloom wing pays 75% of the cost of the machine or tools so you can work from home.

Status

Listed as running on the Leh district website, and a September 2026 news report on a stipend rise for about 1,000 trainees in Leh and Kargil shows the centres are working; checked 25 October 2026.

Who can apply

• Anyone who wants to learn a craft; the centres train both women and men
• Each centre takes about 10 to 15 trainees
• Tool subsidy (Thakzo Yargyas): trained artisans and educated unemployed youth who want to work in weaving, spinning or knitting; she pays 25% of the machine cost

How to apply

1. Ask at the nearest Handloom or Handicraft training centre, or at the Industries and Commerce office in Leh or Kargil, when the next batch starts
2. Join the batch and attend the full course to get the stipend
3. After training, apply to the Handloom wing for a machine or tools under Thakzo Yargyas and pay your 25% share

In person: Assistant Director Handloom or Assistant Director Handicraft, Industries and Commerce Department, Leh or Kargil

Run by

Industries and Commerce Department, UT of Ladakh (Handloom Development and Handicraft wings)

The official pages still show old stipend amounts (₹500 a month for handloom, ₹100 to ₹200 a month for handicraft) that are out of date. A news report in September 2026 says the stipend has been raised, but no official order was found, so ask the centre what it pays today. Seats are few in each centre.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Handloom Development Department (training centres, Thakzo Yargyas 75% subsidy), Handicraft department (16 training centres, crafts taught) · Official page to apply

Also called Ladakh Homestay Scheme, Revised Homestay Policy, Homestay Policy Ladakh, Holistic Homestay Support Framework

Household items worth up to ₹1,25,000, 75% of the cost of a winter-friendly flush toilet up to ₹1,25,000, and ₹50,000 cash for furnishings: about ₹3 lakh in all

Help to turn a village house into a paying homestay for tourists: bedding, kitchen and solar items, money for a winter toilet, and cash for furniture, plus hospitality training. It is for people of Ladakh who own a house in a rural village.

Status

In force: notified on 22 October 2023 for five years from 2023-24, and the Tourism Department launched a 21-day homestay training framework on 5 March 2026; checked 25 October 2026.

Who can apply

• Resident of Ladakh, with the land in her or his own name
• House in a rural area, outside the municipal limits of Leh and Kargil
• At least one and at most six guest rooms, with a winter-friendly flush toilet and bathroom
• The owner and family live in the same village, and one trained family member is always available for guests
• The property is not under dispute
• Selection committees look at education, work and employment of the family; households with no employed member get preference, as do ex-servicemen and ex-Agniveers

How to apply

1. Wait for the Tourism Department's call for applications, or ask the Assistant Director (Tourism) in Leh or Kargil when the next one is
2. Fill the form given in Annexure 1 of the policy and hand it in on paper with the supporting documents
3. A field team visits the house; committees then pick the beneficiaries
4. Complete the homestay training and list the homestay on an online travel site to receive the household items

In person: Office of the Assistant Director (Tourism), Leh or Kargil; inside protected areas, the Department of Wildlife Protection

Run by

Department of Tourism and Culture, UT of Ladakh (outside protected areas); Department of Wildlife Protection, UT of Ladakh (inside Changthang, Karakoram and Hemis protected areas)

This is not paid on demand: committees choose households. The household items come only after the homestay is listed online and the training certificate is shown. Toilet money is paid 40% upfront and 60% after an inspection. If she already got items under the 2020 policy, she cannot get the ₹50,000 furnishing cash again, and a toilet upgrade is capped at ₹1,00,000.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Notification: Ladakh Homestay Policy 2023 (full policy, 22 October 2023), Notification page: Ladakh Homestay Policy 2023, Tourism policies and schemes, Interactive session on Revised Homestay Policy 2023 (Rs 3 lakh per beneficiary), Secretary Tourism launches Holistic Homestay Support Framework (5 March 2026) · Official page to apply

Also called SIDCO loan, Sindhu Infrastructure Development Corporation loan, Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana Ladakh, AMSY Ladakh, SIDCO women loan

Business loans at 4% to 10% interest; loans sanctioned in November 2025 were ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh. In March 2025 the administration said women entrepreneurs would pay 2% less interest.

Low-interest loans to start or grow a small business such as tailoring, knitting, a café, mushroom growing or a taxi. They are for Scheduled Tribe, minority, backward class and disabled people in Ladakh, and include a scheme for tribal women.

Status

Lending in 2026: SIDCO signed a further ₹20 crore lending agreement with NMDFC on 17 August 2026 and showed its borrowers' products at an exhibition in Leh on 5 September 2026; checked 25 October 2026.

Who can apply

• Lives in Ladakh
• From a Scheduled Tribe, a minority community, a backward class, or a person with a disability
• Tribal women can borrow under the Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana
• For self-employment in transport, tourism, agriculture, services, small business or education

How to apply

1. Register on the SIDCO loan portal and fill the online loan form, or go to a SIDCO loan camp in your area
2. Ask for the interest rate for your loan size, and ask for the 2% lower rate for women
3. SIDCO checks the project and sends a sanction letter

In person: SIDCO office, Leh or Kargil

Run by

Sindhu Infrastructure Development Corporation (SIDCO), a company of the Administration of UT of Ladakh, lending with NSTFDC, NMDFC, NBCFDC and NDFDC

This is a loan that must be repaid, not a grant. The rate depends on the loan size. The 2% cut for women was announced in March 2025; no rate table or order for it was found, so ask SIDCO in writing whether it applies to your loan.

Checked 25 October 2026 against LG announces new initiatives for women's empowerment (8 March 2025): loans to women entrepreneurs at 2% lower interest through SIDCO, UT Administration committed to a self-reliant Ladakh (7 November 2025): rates 4% to 10%, AMSY, ₹16.17 crore to 137 borrowers, Inauguration and Loan Distribution Ceremony organised by SIDCO in Leh, SIDCO signs loan agreement with NSTFDC for Scheduled Tribes, SIDCO signs loan agreements with NMDFC, NBCFDC and NDFDC, SIDCO signs additional ₹20 crore agreement with NMDFC (17 August 2026), SIDCO marketing exhibition-cum-sale at Leh (5 September 2026) · Official page to apply