Stand Up India Loan Scheme
A flagship financial support scheme called the Stand Up India scheme is being launched by the Modi Govt. on 5th April 2016. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India made this announcement of rolling out this unique project on that very day through his official social networking pages like Facebook and Twitter. This scheme is launched to provide financial help and support to the backward masses, especially the women, tribes, families of Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, some backward classes like Dalit community, etc. so that they can stand on their own feet and do their living keeping head high.
Who are the beneficiaries of the Stand Up India Scheme?
As per the announcements of the PM, the main beneficiaries of this Stand Up scheme will be the women of the nation who are still fighting for equal status and empowerment in the male dominated societies of the country. The Govt. will provide all sorts of financial support to the women who want to stand up and perform any type of entrepreneurship. Also the people belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Dalit community and other backward tribes are also included in the beneficiary list of this scheme and they will also be provided financial help in form of loans so that they can stand up and perform what they want to do for living.
Push for entrepreneurship in India
The PM of India is keen to develop and flourish the idea of entrepreneurship in the country right from micro level to large level. Entrepreneurship means following a profession or business of your own and not working under others. This idea of freedom and idea to take chances and risks using own innovations and hard work is getting acceptable all over the world. So the government also wants to support the cause of entrepreneurship in the country and thus the Stand Up scheme is for the women, SC / ST, tribes and other backward communities of the nation who face huge injustice in the society and do not get fair chance to prove their skills.
Loans for the entrepreneurs under the Stand Up India scheme
The Govt. has decided to give easy loans to the women, scheduled castes, tribes and other backward communities so that they can take up entrepreneurship by their own and stand up in the society and make an identity of their own. As per the scheme, the Govt. will grant loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore for the beneficiaries of this scheme. These loans will have easy repay options, will be easily accessible and have subsidized interest rates.
How the banks will provide loans under the Stand Up India scheme?
Under this Stand Up India scheme, the banks will have to provide loans to the beneficiaries and the amount of loans will range from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore. As per calculations of the Ministry of Finance, there will be an expected number of 2.5 lakh beneficiaries in the country. So the banks which have counting of 1.25 lakh will have to complete this task of giving loans to the 2.5 lakh beneficiaries. So this leads to the fact that every bank must give two such loans under this Stand Up scheme so that the target is fulfilled.
Some important Stand Up India scheme related data:
| Sl. No. | Scheme Attributes | Related Information |
| 1 | Name of the scheme | Stand Up India Scheme |
| 2 | Nature of beneficiaries | Women, Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) |
| 3 | Number of beneficiaries expected | 2.5 lakh |
| 4 | Minimum loan amount | Rs. 10 lakh |
| 5 | Maximum loan amount | Rs. 1 crore |
| 6 | Governing body | Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) |
| 7 | Credit guarantee mechanism body | National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) |
| 8 | Nature of work for which loans will be available | Entrepreneurship |
| 9 | Mode of loan withdrawal | RuPay Debit card |
What will be the mode of withdraw of loans for the beneficiaries?
Those beneficiaries who will get involved with the Stand Up scheme in India will get loans directly from the banks to perform their entrepreneurship. The loans will range from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore and the loans will be paid in separate bank accounts of the beneficiaries, specially designed for the Stand Up scheme. The mode of withdrawal of the amount will be through debit cards. The debit card service will be provided by RuPay. This will help the beneficiaries to withdraw money from the accounts at ease.
Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC)
Connect centres will be designed for this Stand Up scheme all over the country, where the project handling and beneficiary handling job will be done. The beneficiaries may visit these connect centres to make enquiries about the scheme or the details about joining the scheme. The form fill up to get enrolled in the scheme will also be done through these centres. The SIDBI offices and the branched of NABARD will officially handle the issues of the beneficiaries and will be termed as Connect Centres.
Credit Guarantee through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC)
For provide guarantee on the credit amount to the beneficiaries of the Stand Up scheme, the govt. has made discussions with the NCGTC. As per the discussions, a corpus amount of Rs. 5 thousand crore will be set up by the NCGTC so that credit guarantee is to be provided to the 2.5 lakh beneficiaries of the scheme who are SC, ST and women. This credit guarantee plan will strengthen the project and will make this project a successful one.
Web portal for online services
The PM of India always supports the idea of Digital India. So for the scheme of Stand Up India, he wants a dedicated web portal designed and implemented soon. Through this web portal, online form fill up, eligibility criteria, enquiry and other works related to the scheme can be done. The beneficiaries can log on to their accounts and access and modify their accounts through this web portal. Although the NABARD and SIDBI offices will play the role of connect centres, still the online platform will be very helpful to push the scheme further.
Pre Loan Training and skill development training for the beneficiaries
The women and people belonging to SC and ST categories who will get involved in this Stand up scheme will get free training and workshops so that they can sharpen their skills and get proper direction to invest the loan amount. These trainings will be given before and also after the sanction of the loans. Training on skill development and marketing will be provided to the beneficiaries so that they get proper guidance to use the loan amount and utilize it in their entrepreneurship ideas.
Similar schemes
There are some similar schemes like Mudra loan scheme or the Start Up scheme which provide loans to the financial deprived citizens of the country so that they can stand up and get their business and entrepreneurship going. Mudra is a scheme for micro units and small businesses where as the Start up scheme is for every entrepreneur. But this Stand up scheme is only designed for the women and the people of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories.
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