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As much as Rs 40,710 crore loan has been sanctioned to over 1.8 lakh accounts under the government’s flagship Stand-Up India Scheme to promote economic empowerment and job creation, according to official data.

Since the inception of the scheme on April 5, 2016, about 80% of the loans have been given to women entrepreneurs.

The scheme aims to promote entrepreneurship amongst women, Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) by providing them loans for starting a greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, services or the trading sector and activities allied to agriculture.

In the first year, Rs 3,683 crore was sanctioned which has now swelled to Rs 40,710 crore as on March 31, 2023, the data showed.

As much as Rs 33,152.43 crore was sanctioned to 1.44 lakh accounts of women, while 26,889 loans worth Rs 5,625.5 crore were sanctioned to SCs, and 8,960 loans worth Rs 1,932 crore given to STs under the scheme.

The scheme has since been extended till 2025.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday acknowledged the role that Stand-Up India initiative, saying it has “boosted the spirit of enterprise.”

Loans under the scheme are available to SC/ST, women entrepreneurs of 18 years and above. Loans under the scheme are available for only greenfield projects, ie first-time ventures of the beneficiary in the aforementioned sectors.

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In case of non-individual enterprises, 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either SC/ST and/or women entrepreneurs. Also, borrowers should not be in default to any bank or financial institution.

The scheme has undergone some changes since its launch. The extent of margin money to be brought by the borrower has been reduced from ‘up to 25%’ to ‘up to 15%’ of the project cost. However, the borrower will continue to contribute at least 10% of the project cost as own contribution.

Also, pisciculture, beekeeping, poultry, livestock, rearing, grading, sorting, aggregation agro industries, dairy, fishery, agriclinic and agribusiness centres, food and agro-processing, and services supporting these projects have been made eligible for loans under the scheme for enterprises in activities allied to agriculture.

The scheme, which covers all branches of scheduled commercial banks, can be accessed either directly at the branch or through Stand-Up India Portal or through the lead district manager (LDM).

Apart from linking prospective borrowers to banks for loans, the online portal standupmitra.in developed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for Stand-Up India Scheme is also providing guidance to prospective entrepreneurs in their endeavour to set up business enterprises.

Through a network of more than 8,000 hand-holding agencies, the portal offers step-by-step guidance for connecting prospective borrowers to various agencies with specific expertise viz skilling centres, mentorship support, entrepreneurship development programme centres, and district industries centre.