Five years after the Stand Up India scheme was launched by the government to promote entrepreneurship among women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST), banks have sanctioned more than ₹25,000 crore to over 1.14 lakh accounts, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.
As per the scheme, bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore are routed to at least one SC or ST borrower, and at least one woman borrower, by each branch of the scheduled commercial banks.
Official data suggests that women-led enterprises have dominated the sanctions so far under the scheme, which has now been extended till 2025.
“₹25,586 crore has been sanctioned under the Stand Up India Scheme to over 1,14,322 accounts up to 23.03.2021 since its inception,” the Ministry said.
Over 93,000 of those loans worth ₹21,200 crore were sanctioned to women-led business enterprises. 16,258 S.C. entrepreneurs received sanctions for loans worth ₹3,335.87 crore while loans worth ₹1,049 crore were approved for 4,970 ST borrowers.
Aspiring entrepreneurs can seek a loan directly at bank branches or through an online portal or the lead district manager.
