The Stand Up India Scheme has sanctioned loans to more than 1,80,000 entrepreneurs worth Rs 40,000 crore over the last seven years, according to the finance ministry. On 5 April 2016, this scheme was launched to promote the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and women entrepreneurs who are at the grassroots level providing an emphasis on economic empowerment and employment creation.
The Stand Up India Scheme has been extended till 2025 which was decided in 2019-20. In the first six years of this scheme, a total of Rs 30,160 crore loan was granted which implies that over Rs 10,000 crore loan has been sanctioned over a year.
Out of the 180,000 people who have been granted the loan from the scheme, around 1,44,787 are women entrepreneurs, 26,88 are Scheduled Castes, and 8,960 are Scheduled Tribes, said the government. The scheme provides bank loans which start from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore to each women borrower, SC or ST borrower per bank branch of any Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) for the establishment of a greenfield enterprise in the manufacturing, trading sectors, services, as well as activities related to agriculture.
- The eligibility for the above loan scheme are:
- The woman entrepreneur, SC or ST must own at least 51 per cent stake in a non-individual firm.
- The individual being an SC, ST, or women entrepreneur must be above 18 years old and own at least 51 per cent controlling stake in a greenfield.
- A non-individual firm is eligible for a loan.
