Giving a push to the government’s financial inclusion programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched the Stand Up India scheme under which 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to Rs 1 crore to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.
At a function, which was organised to mark ‘the birth anniversary of Dalit leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram, Modi flagged off 5,100 e-rickshaws. Explaining the contours of Stand Up India programme, Modi said this will help in creating 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs throughout the country as every bank branch will be required to provide two such loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore without collateral for setting up a new enterprise.
Stressing that it is not possible for the government to provide jobs to everyone, the Prime Minister said the scheme will convert “job-seekers into job-creators...This scheme is going to transform the lives of people from Dalit and tribal communities.” Stand Up India, he said, aims to empower every Indian and enable them to stand on their own feet. The scheme was announced by Modi in his Independence Day address.
He recalled various schemes of the government like Jan Dhan Yojana, insurance and pension and MUDRA Yojana to promote financial inclusion with the view to empower the poor.