Over 15 crore loans amounting to ₹4.78-lakh-crore have been disbursed to women borrowers since the inception of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) with Tamil Nadu topping the list in availing the loan followed by women in West Bengal and Karnataka.
As on March 31 women in Tamil Nadu had availed ₹58,227 crore loan from the scheme followed by West Bengal ₹55,232 crore, Karnataka ₹47,714 crore, Bihar ₹44,879 crore and Maharashtra ₹42,000 crore loan as per the data provided by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha.
Together women from these five States have got 52 per cent of the total MUDRA loan for women. Loans under this scheme are extended to eligible borrowers for manufacturing, processing, trading, services, and activities allied to agriculture, which help in creating income-generating activities and employment.
As per the data provided by the Finance Ministry in March in total more than 22.53 crore loans have been sanctioned since launch of the scheme. Out of this, more than 15.75 crore loans extended to women, thereby 70 per cent of the total loan borrowers are women.
PMMY was launched on April 8, 2015, for providing loans up to ₹10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro-enterprises. The loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks, MFIs, and NBFCs.
The government data on MUDRA loans reflect that the number of women joining micro-enterprises and NCSBS is rising. However, experts say that there is a need for a mechanism to check whether the loans availed by women are actually used by them or the money is going to male members in the family who run the business in the name of women in the household.