Stand-Up India Scheme Witnesses 30% Rise in Loans Sanctioned in 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheme, Stand-Up India, launched in 2016, has witnessed substantial growth in 2021. The scheme was targeted at financing and empowering MSMEs run by women and backward classes. It saw a 30% growth when compared to the previous fiscal.

The scheme intends to facilitate bank loans from all commercial banks in the range of Rs 10 lakh to 1 crore. The loan is granted to only one SC/ST majority stake owned MSME and one woman-majority-stake-owned MSME per branch. The year 2021 witnessed 1,27,440 applications for loans under the scheme amounting to Rs 28,700.36 crore as compared to 98,454 applications for Rs 22,136.21 crore in the year 2020. The scheme has received tremendous traction, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing an extension of the scheme up to 2025.