Banks sanction ₹23.2 lakh crore to about 41 crore beneficiaries under Mudra Yojana

Banks and financial institutions have sanctioned ₹23.2 lakh crore to more than 40.82 crore beneficiaries under the Mudra Yojana launched to fund the unfunded eight years ago.

Banks and financial institutions have sanctioned ₹23.2 lakh crore to more than 40.82 crore beneficiaries under the Mudra Yojana launched to fund the unfunded eight years ago.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched on April 8, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate easy collateral-free micro-credit of up to ₹10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro-entrepreneurs for income-generating activities.

Loans under PMMY are provided by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) — banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other financial intermediaries, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on April 8.

Speaking on the occasion of the 8th anniversary, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Since the launch of the scheme, as of March 24, 2023, about ₹23.2 lakh crore has been sanctioned in 40.82 crore loan accounts”.

About 68% of accounts under the scheme belong to women entrepreneurs, and 51% of accounts belong to entrepreneurs of SC/ST and OBC categories. “This demonstrates that easy availability of credit to the budding entrepreneurs of the country has led to innovation and sustained increase in per capita income,” she added.

Highlighting indigenous growth through MSMEs, the Finance Minister said, “The growth of MSMEs has contributed massively to the ‘Make in India’ programme, as strong domestic MSMEs lead to increased indigenous production both for domestic markets as well as for exports. The PMMY scheme has helped in the generation of large-scale employment opportunities at the grassroots level, and also has proved to be a game changer while boosting the Indian economy”.

Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K. Karad said the PMMY scheme aims to provide collateral-free access to credit in a seamless manner to micro-enterprises in the country.