Stand-Up India Scheme: Empowering Women and SC/ST Entrepreneurs in 2024: The Head of State of India recently acknowledged the significant role played by the Stand-Up India campaign in empowering the SC/ST communities and ensuring female empowerment. The campaign’s focus is on providing loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore to individuals belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, or women of the nation, aiming to promote entrepreneurship among them.
Stand-Up India Scheme: Empowering Women and SC/ST Entrepreneurs in 2024
– **Introduction:** The Stand-Up India campaign has been recognized by the Head of State of India for its significant role in empowering SC/ST communities and ensuring female empowerment. Launched on April 5, 2016, by the Ministry of Finance, the scheme aims to promote entrepreneurship among marginalized groups by providing loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore.
– **Loan Assistance Program:** Each of the 1.25 lakh bank branches is expected to provide loans annually to at least one Dalit or tribal entrepreneur and one woman entrepreneur. The scheme has been extended until 2025.
– **Loan Eligibility:**
– SC/ST and/or female entrepreneurs over 18 years old.
– Loans are available for greenfield projects in manufacturing, services, trading, or agriculture.
– For non-individual businesses, 51% of the equity must be held by SC/ST and/or Women Entrepreneurs.
– Borrowers must not be in default to any bank or financial institution.
– **Achievements:** Over the last seven years, Rs. 40,710 crore has been sanctioned under the scheme to 180,636 accounts. More than 80% of the loans have been allocated to women.
– **Key Features:**
– Aiming to promote entrepreneurial activities.
– Loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore for working capital.
– Each bank branch is mandated to facilitate two business projects: one for SC/ST and one for a female entrepreneur.
– RuPay debit cards are provided for credit withdrawal.
– Refinance window available through SIDBI.
– Support provided for pre-loan training, including marketing.
– Online portal for registration and support services.
– **Objectives:** To leverage institutional credit to reach minority populations and complement existing programs.
– **Implementation:** Led by SIDBI, with participation from DICCI and other institutions.
– **Classification:** Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC) designated to SIDBI and NABARD. Initial allocation of Rs. 10,000 crore to SIDBI for financial assistance.
– **Rationale:** To trigger new industrial activity in rural areas and provide financial access to the marginalized.
– **Benefits:** Encouraging new entrepreneurs and providing expert advice and support.
– **Challenges:**
– Lack of Socio-economic Education: Minimal focus on educating individuals about the socio-economic aspects of Dalit and female entrepreneurship may hinder the scheme’s effectiveness.
Stand-Up India Scheme: Empowering Women and SC/ST Entrepreneurs in 2024
Under this scheme, each of the 1.25 lakh bank branches is expected to provide loans annually to at least one Dalit or tribal entrepreneur and one woman entrepreneur in their service area. Introduced by the Ministry of Finance on April 5, 2016, the Stand-Up India Scheme aims to promote entrepreneurship at the grassroots level, focusing on economic empowerment and job creation. The scheme has been extended up to the year 2025.
Promote entrepreneurship among women belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories. Provide financing for greenfield ventures in manufacturing, services, or the trading sector, as well as projects related to agriculture. Facilitate small business loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh to at least one SC/ST applicant and at least one female borrower per branch of Scheduled Commercial Banks
Loan Assistance Program: The initiative aims to encourage all bank branches to extend loans.
Loan Eligibility:
- SC/ST and/or female entrepreneurs over 18 years old.
- Loans under the program are available for greenfield projects, defined here as the recipient’s first-time venture in manufacturing, services, or the trading sector, including projects allied to agriculture.
- For non-individual businesses, 51% of the equity and controlling stake must be held by either SC/ST and/or Women Entrepreneurs.
- Borrowers must not be in default to any bank or financial institution.
- The Scheme envisages up to 15% margin money, which can be provided in conjunction with eligible Central/State schemes.
- Nonetheless, the borrower will have to contribute a minimum of 10% of the project cost as their own contribution.
Achievements:
Over the last seven years, Rs. 40,710 crore has been sanctioned under the Stand-Up India Scheme to 180,636 accounts. More than 80% of loans provided under this scheme have been allocated to women.
Key Features of the Stand-Up India Scheme:
- The initiative is part of an endeavor by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, aimed at promoting entrepreneurial activities.
- Loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore are provided for working capital to establish a new business.
- Each bank branch is mandated to facilitate two business projects on average: one for SC/ST entrepreneurs and one for a female entrepreneur.
- A RuPay debit card is provided for credit withdrawal, and the bank maintains the credit history of the borrower to ensure funds are used for business purposes.
- A refinance window through the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000 crore is available.
- Under this scheme, the National Credit Guarantee Trust Company (NCGTC) creates a corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore for credit assurance.
- Comprehensive support is provided to borrowers, including pre-loan training in aspects like loan promotion, factoring, and marketing.
- An online portal has been established for easy registration and support services.
Objectives: The primary aim of the Stand-Up India Scheme is to leverage the institutional credit framework to reach minority populations by initiating small business loans in the non-farm sector. The scheme will also complement existing programs of other departments.
Implementation: The Stand-Up India Scheme will be led by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), with the participation of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI). Additionally, other sector-specific institutions will also be involved.
Classification:
The designation of Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC) will be provided to SIDBI and the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). An initial allocation of Rs. 10,000 crore will be earmarked for the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to provide financial assistance. There will be both pre-loan and operational stages for this scheme, with officials providing support to individuals throughout these phases. To facilitate the credit system’s outreach to entrepreneurs, the margin money for composite financing will be up to 25 percent. Participants in this scheme will have access to online platforms and other resources for e-marketing, web entrepreneurship, factoring services, and registration.
Rationale for the Scheme:
Currently, only established cities receive incentives for establishing new industries. However, with the introduction of this scheme, new industrial activity will be triggered by 2.5 lakh individuals and 1.25 areas across the country annually. Bank nationalization was carried out in the name of the poor, yet for the first 70 years after Independence, almost 40 percent of the population lacked access to financial services. The idea is to provide financing and loans not only to large corporations but also to ordinary people.
Benefits of the Stand Up India Scheme:
The primary objective of the initiative is to encourage and empower new entrepreneurs to reduce unemployment. For investors, Stand Up India provides an ideal platform where they can receive expert advice, time, and knowledge about regulations
Challenges Associated with the Stand Up India Scheme:
- Lack of Socio-economic Education: There is minimal focus on educating individuals about the socio-economic aspects of Dalit and female entrepreneurship. This lack of awareness may hinder the effectiveness of the scheme
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