Govt sanctions loans of more than 40,600 crore to over 1.8 lakh women entrepreneurs under Stand Up India Scheme

The Government has sanctioned loans of more than 40,600 crore rupees to over 1.8 lakh women entrepreneurs under the Stand Up India Scheme. Speaking on the 7th anniversary of the Stand-Up India Scheme, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, it is a matter of pride and satisfaction that more than 1.8 lakh women and SC/ST entrepreneurs received loans under the scheme. She said the scheme has created an eco-system which facilitates and continues to provide a supportive environment for setting up green field enterprises through access to loans from bank branches of all Scheduled Commercial Banks.

The Minister added that the Stand-Up India Scheme has proved to be an important milestone in promoting entrepreneurship among SC, ST and women. Ms Sitharaman said that Stand-up India Scheme has touched numerous lives by ensuring access to hassle-free affordable credit to the unserved, underserved segment of entrepreneurs.

Stand Up India Scheme was launched on 5th April, 2016 to promote entrepreneurship amongst women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories. It is designed to help them in starting a greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, services or the trading sector and activities allied to agriculture.

Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad said the Stand-up India scheme is based on the third pillar of the National Mission for Financial Inclusion, namely “Funding the unfunded”. Dr Karad said it is also a matter of immense pleasure that more than 80 per cent of loans given under this scheme have been provided to women. The scheme has created an eco-system which facilitates and continues to provide a supportive environment for setting up green field enterprises through access to loans from bank branches of all Scheduled Commercial Banks.