Nearly five years since launch, the Stand-up India scheme has seen loans sanctioned by banks in aggregate of ₹ 25,586 crore to over 1,14,322 accounts, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.
This scheme was launched on April 5, 2016 to promote entrepreneurship amongst women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category.
While the total loans sanctioned to women stood at ₹ 21,200.77 crore (93034 accounts); the loans sanctioned to SCs stood at ₹ 3335.87 crore (16258 accounts) and STs at ₹1049.72 crore (4,970 accounts), an official release said.
The main purpose of Stand-up India scheme— which is now extended upto the year 2025– is to provide loans for setting up greenfield enterprises in manufacturing, services or the trading sector and activities allied to agriculture by both ready and trainee borrowers.
This scheme facilitates bank loans between ₹ 10 lakhs to ₹ 1 crore to atleast one scheduled caste/scheduled tribe borrower and atleast one woman borrower per bank branch of scheduled commercial banks.
Loans under this scheme are available for only greenfield projects. Greenfield signifies, in this context, the first time venture of the beneficiary in the manufacturing, services or the trading sector and activities allied to agriculture.