Enables Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women entrepreneurs to access loans, setting a target of creating 2.5 lakh such entrepreneurs across the country.
Key Features:
- Under the scheme 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to Rs 1 crore. Each branch will be required to provide two such loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore without collateral for setting up a new enterprise.
- Under the scheme people from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and women entrepreneurs, will get support such as pre-loan training, facilitating loan, factoring and marketing.
- There will be a Rs 10,000 crore refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) will create a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore.
- SIDBI will engage with the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various other institutions to take the scheme forward.
- The offices of SIDBI and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development will be designated ‘Stand Up Connect Centres‘.
- Debit Card (RuPay) will be used for withdrawing working capital and history of borrowers will be developed.
15/04/2016
Critically analyse the status of SC/ST and women entrepreneurs, the opportunities and challenges they face in India. (200 Words)
Hurdles:
- Lack of access to business networks which provides support in entering the entrepreneurship field
- Credit is not made available easily because of lack of collateral guarantee required for taking loans
- Low rates of literacy among SC/ST/women doesn’t provide them basic and technical education for enterpreneurship
However, recent steps taken by government have the potential to un-tap opportunities for them. Such steps include:
- increasing the authorized capital under National Schedule Caste Finance and Development Corporation,
- establishing MUDRA Bank,
- green business scheme (for loans up to Rs. 1 lakh for climate friendly technology usage), and
- Stand up India for ease of availability of credit to SC/ST/wome entrepreneurs.