Union Cabinet approves Stand Up India Scheme

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the “Stand Up India Scheme” to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs. The Scheme is intended to facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch, on an average one for each category of entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers.

The expected date of reaching the target of at least 2.5 lakh approvals is 36 months from the launch of the Scheme.

The Stand Up India Scheme provides for:

• Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000 crore.

• Creation of a credit guarantee mechanism through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).

• Handholding support for borrowers both at the pre-loan stage and during operations. This would include increasing their familiarity with factoring services, registration with online platforms and e-market places as well as sessions on best practices and problem solving.