Describe the standup India Scheme, explain about credit facilities available to women | RBI Grade B Phase 1 Preparation - Bank Exams PDF Download

Describe the standup India Scheme, explain about credit facilities available to women entrepreneurship.

The programme for funding SC/ST and/or female entrepreneurs is called Standup India. In a nutshell, the Stand Up India programme aims to make funding accessible to Dalit and female entrepreneurs. This programme, which was introduced on April 5, 2016, was extended through the year 2025 in order to encourage entrepreneurship at the grassroots level with a focus on economic empowerment and job creation. The scheme is aimed specifically at entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as female entrepreneurs to help them take loans at low interest rates. The idea of the scheme is to empower the socially and economically disenfranchised sections of the society, including Dalits, tribals and women.
The Stand Up India Scheme facilitates bank loans between 10 lakh and 1 crore to at least one scheduled caste (SC) or scheduled tribe borrower and at least one woman per bank branch for setting up a greenfield enterprise. This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector. In case of non-individual enterprises at least 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either an SC/ST or Woman entrepreneur. The age of an SC/ST or Woman entrepreneur must be above 18 years. The rate of interest would be the lowest applicable rate of the bank for that category (rating category) not to exceed (base rate (Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate) + 3%+ tenor premium). Besides primary security, the loan may be secured by collateral security or guarantee of Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Stand-Up India Loans as decided by the banks. The loan is repayable in seven years with a maximum moratorium period of 18 months. For drawal of Working capital upto 10 lakh, the same may be sanctioned by way of overdraft. Rupay debit card to be issued for convenience of the borrower. Working capital limit above 10 lakh to be sanctioned by way of Cash Credit limit. 

The margin money requirement for loans under the Scheme has been reduced from 'upto 25%' to 'upto 15%'.
The government has taken a number of actions to ensure that the plan is implemented successfully. It is now time to enrol in this, which will help the socially and economically disadvantaged groups of the community, such as Dalits, Tribes, and Women, become more powerful.