Majlis to Raise Marriage Loan Ceiling

The Majlis Joint Commission has decided to raise the ceiling for marriage loans to newlyweds in the next fiscal year that begins in March. 
In the process studying the proposed 2021-22 budget, lawmakers decided to increase the loan by at least 40%. The loan will increase from the current 500 million rials to 700 million rials per couple, IRNA cited Rahim Zare'e, the spokesperson of the commission as saying.  
The loans will double to 1 billion rials per couple if the bride is below 23 old and the groom under 25, the MP said. 
Over the years marriage loans have increased due to runaway inflation and the decline in living standards depriving many young people from tying the knot.
The 30-million-rial loan five years ago is now 500 million rials ($2,000) per partner. It was raised from 150 million to 300 million rials ($1,200) per spouse in the last fiscal year. 
As per rules, couples can apply for loans maximum up to two years after the pronouncement of their marriage.  Lenders have been told to prioritize the couples when it comes to processing and approving loans.
Banks gave 659,000 marriage loans worth 344 trillion rials ($1.37 billion) to newlyweds since the beginning of the current fiscal year last March to Dec 10. 
According to Ali-Asghar Mirmohammad-Sadeghi, the Central Bank of Iran vice governor for credit affairs, marriage loans have continued since inception in 1985 and are reflected in government budgets in the past five years. Marriage loans are interest-free bank loans to be repaid in seven years.
Mirmohammad-Sadeghi said the CBI set up a special platform in 2010 to monitor the marriage loans. "Based on available data, lenders have thus far paid 12,258 million marriage loans worth 1,172 trillion rials ($4.68b).”  
The government and relevant organizations have often voiced concern over the declining marriage rates and offer financial incentives to encourage the youth to marry sooner.