Centre extends 'Stand Up India Scheme' to 2025; activities allied to agriculture included

The Government of India has extended the duration of ‘Stand Up India Scheme’ up to the year 2025, MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment Sushri Pratima Bhoumik said in a written reply to Lok Sabha on Tuesday. This scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 5, 2016. The objective of the 'Stand Up India Scheme' is to facilitate loans from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) of value between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore to atleast one SC or ST borrower and one woman borrower per bank branch for setting up green field enterprise in manufacturing, service or trading sector. 

'Stand Up India Scheme' to continue to 2025

As of June 28, 2021, a total of 1,16,266 loans amounting to Rs 26,204.49 crore have been extended under the Scheme since its inception, said Sushri Pratima Bhoumik. In the letter, the MoS further said that in pursuant to an announcement made by the Finance Minister in the Budget Speech for Financial Year 2021-22, the margin money requirement for loans under the 'Stand Up India Scheme' has been reduced from 25 per cent to up to 15 per cent. Activities allied to agriculture have been included in the scheme and apart from this, no other change is contemplated, she added. 

Informing that government does not allocate funds for loans under the 'Stand Up India', Bhoumik informed that loans under this scheme are extended by SCBs as per commercial parameters, Board approved policies of respective banks, and extant RBI guidelines. She said, "An amount of Rs 500 crore each was however released by government in FY 2016-17 and FY 2017-18 and Rs 100 crore in FY 2021 towards the corpus of Credit Guarantee Fund for 'Stand Up India' (CGFSI).

Remarking that the government has taken various steps towards the effective implementation of the scheme, the MoS said that these inter alia, include proviion for submission for online applications by potential borrowers through www.stanupmitra.in portal;, hand-holding support, intensive publicity campaign, simplified loan application form, Credit Gaurantee Scheme, convergence with State and Central government scheme wherever feasible, reduction in margin money and inclusion of activities allied to agriculture etc. 

(Image: Facebook-@BJP Tripura)