The loan limit for the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA) scheme will be hiked by 100 per cent if the Bharatiya Janata Party is voted back to power, the party said while announcing its manifesto on Sunday.
“The BJP has decided to raise loan limit under Mudra scheme to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced.
The scheme was launched eight years ago in April 2015 by PM Modi in order to facilitate collateral-free credit of up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro-entrepreneurs.
The scheme was launched to encourage small businesses, and banks were asked to provide collateral-free loans up to Rs 10 lakh under three categories — Shishu (up to Rs 50,000), Kishore (between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh) and Tarun ( Rs 10 lakh).
“Since the launch of the scheme, as of March 24, 2023, about Rs 23.2 lakh crore has been sanctioned in 40.82 crore loan accounts,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said recently. Of this, close to 70 per cent belong to female entrepreneurs while 51 per cent belongs to those from SC/ST, OBC categories.
