Kathmandu, Feb. 22 -- Nearly three months after the deadline for startup loan applications closed, the government remains stuck in the selection process, delaying the much-anticipated concessional financing for young entrepreneurs.

"The applications are under the selection process as the documents submitted are being studied. It has also now been decided to conduct field inspections during the selection phase," said Maniram Gautam, information officer at the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI).

IEDI received 10,244 applications for subsidised startup loans by the final deadline of November 26. The call for proposals was issued on November 5, and 8,203 of the applications were submitted .

In previous years, field inspecti...