Banks sanction ₹25,586 crore to 1.14 lakh Stand-Up India accounts in 5 years

Started on April 5, 2016, the scheme has benefited 93,094 women entrepreneurs with outstanding loan of ₹21,200 crore as of March 23.

Under the scheme, bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore are provided to at least one Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch of Scheduled Commercial Banks. (Representative image) REUTERS/Amit Dave (REUTERS)

The Finance Ministry on Sunday said banks have sanctioned ₹25,586 crore to about 1,14,322 beneficiaries under the Stand Up India Scheme in the last five years for promoting entrepreneurship among women and SC & STs. 

The objective of Stand-Up India is to promote entrepreneurship amongst women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories, to help them in starting a greenfield enterprise in trading, manufacturing and services sector, by both ready and trainee borrowers, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Under the scheme, bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore are provided to at least one Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch of Scheduled Commercial Banks. 

This scheme, which has been extended up to 2025, covers SC/ST and/or women entrepreneurs, above 18 years of age, it said. 

In case of non-individual enterprises, 51 per cent of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either SC/ST and/or Women Entrepreneur and borrowers should not be in default to any bank/financial institution, it said.