Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: More than 40.82 crore loans amounting to Rs 23.2 lakh crore have been sanctioned in the last eight years under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) to facilitate easy collateral-free credit of up to Rs 10 lakh to micro-entrepreneurs for income-generating activities.
On the eighth anniversary of PMMY, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday that these loans were sanctioned until March 24, 2023.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Micro Units and Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana on April 8, 2015.
Under the scheme, loans were divided into three categories based on the need for finance and the stage in the maturity of the business. These are Shishu (loans up to Rs 50,000), Kishore (loans above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh), and Tarun (loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh).
PM Modi said the PMMY played a vital role in funding the unfunded and ensuring a life of dignity as well as prosperity for countless Indians.
“Today, as we mark eight years of the MUDRA Yojana, I salute the entrepreneurial zeal of all those who benefitted from it and became wealth creators,” he added.
Approximately 69 percent of the total loans were sanctioned to women entrepreneurs and 51 percent of loans were sanctioned to borrowers hailing from the Scheduled Castes/ Tribes and the OBC categories.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman said the scheme helped in the generation of large-scale employment opportunities at the grassroots level and also proved to be a game changer while boosting the Indian economy.
“The growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contributed massively to the ‘Make in India’ program as strong domestic MSMEs lead to increased indigenous production both for domestic markets as well as for exports,” she added.
Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad said the scheme brought the unserved and under-served sections of society within the framework of institutional credit.
“The government’s policy of promoting MUDRA has led millions of MSME enterprises in the formal economy and helped them to get out of the clutches of money-lenders offering very high-cost funds,” he added.
One of the pillars of financial inclusion—funding the unfunded—is reflected through the PMMY, which is being implemented with the objective to provide access to credit for small entrepreneurs, officials said.
The finance ministry has called a meeting of the Public Sector Banks’ (PSBs)’ Managing Directors (MDs) & Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), along with the CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on April 13 to review the progress under financial inclusion and social security schemes.
Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi will chair this meeting and review schemes such as the PMMY, Stand Up India, and the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi).