Data shows that the scheme has addressed the needs of weaker or marginalised sections with 50 per cent of the loan accounts belonging to SC, ST and OBC.
Today marks the completion of ten years of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), which was launched in April 2015. In the last 10 years, PMMY has sanctioned over 52 crore loans worth Rs 32.61 lakh crore. According to government data, the scheme has empowered women with 68 per cent loan accounts belonging to women beneficiaries. Moreover, the data shows that the scheme has addressed the needs of weaker or marginalised sections with 50 per cent of the loan accounts belonging to SC, ST and OBC.
Whats is Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana?
Under the PMMY, collateral-free loans of up to Rs 20 lakh are extended by member lending institutions (MLIs) viz scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), small finance banks (SFBs), non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and microfinance institutions (MFIs), among others.
It was launched to encourage small businesses, and banks were asked to provide collateral-free loans up to Rs 20 lakh under three categories – Shishu (up to Rs 50,000), Kishore (between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh) and Tarun (Rs 10 lakh).
Following the Budget announcement, the Tarun Plus (between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh) scheme was notified on October 25, 2024.
Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana: Key Benefits
- Collateral-free loans of up to Rs 20 Lakh.
- Several banks are not putting processing charges on these loans.
- Repayment tenure is between 12 months of 5 years and there is scope for extension in some cases.
- No foreclosure charges.
- Women entrepreneurs are offered loans at concessional interest rates.
How To Secure Best Interest Rates?
According to Kunal Varma, a clear business plan is among the important factors that can help people to get the best interest rates on loans under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
“In order to qualify for the best interest rates under Mudra, borrowers should have a clear business plan, a good repayment track record, and access through authorized Member Lending Institutions such as banks, NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) and MFIs (Microfinance Institutions). As the scheme keeps evolving with initiatives such as Tarun Plus, we are not only seeing entrepreneurship creation but also entrepreneurship scaling up, which is a major catalyst for sustainable economic growth,” he said.
