New Delhi ‘ April 5’2023- To promote entrepreneurship at the grassroots level, the Centre has sanctioned more than ₹40,700 crore to over 1,80,630 beneficiaries under the Stand-Up India Scheme in the last seven years.
The Stand-Up India Scheme was launched in April 2016 with focus on economic empowerment and job creation and has been extended up to the year 2025. It aims to encourage all bank branches in extending loans to borrowers from SC, ST and women in setting up their own greenfield enterprises.
Recognising the challenges that aspiring SC, ST and women entrepreneurs may face in converting their dream to reality, Stand-Up India was launched to promote entrepreneurship among women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories, to help them in starting a greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, services or the trading sector and activities allied to agriculture.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “It is a matter of pride and satisfaction for me to note that more than 1.8 lakh women and SC/ST entrepreneurs have been sanctioned loans for more than Rs. 40,600 crore.”
“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. Stand-Up India Scheme has proved to be an important milestone in promoting entrepreneurship among SC, ST and women,” she said on the 7th anniversary of SUPI Scheme.
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
The scheme has provided wings to aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase their entrepreneurial acumen and the potential entrepreneurs hold in driving economic growth and building a strong ecosystem by being job creators is immense, she said.