Everything You Need to Know About Mudra Yojana From GOI

The country is riding a new economic growth wave led by the new government. The buoyant markets, shining SME and MSME sectors are bearing the testimony of this new revolution. While speaking at a global economic forum, Prime Minister of the country spoke about the economic renaissance that the nation is witnessing. He said that the MSME sector would play the role of a catalyst in changing the financial climate of the country. Reports tabled by different research agencies suggests that the MSME and SME sector will grow manifold in the coming few years. Recent research tabled by ICRA revealed that the credit to micro and small, medium enterprises is likely to record a growth of more than 12 percent in the forthcoming years. The NBFCs is expected to play a major role. The report said that the NBFC and housing finance segment's CAGR would grow at a rate of 21 percent

There is a popular misconception that Indians are not keen to initiate or run a business. The trend is rather different where people are more interested in beginning something of their own which will be sustainable and profit. This has been the major driving force behind the growth of SME sectors. Interestingly, there are ample examples where people have considered full time business with the start-up if it looks promising with the mode of functioning and the returns. No doubt, availability of finance and access to technology are key to the gradual transformation of such.

Financial support is one aspect which demands closer introspection in India. To some extent, many Indian start-ups don't get the much-needed small business loans from financial institutions, and ultimately the entire business goes under. The whole issue of sustainable SMEs is closely intertwined with easy finance. In this regard, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been a game changer of all sorts. Within a year of its launch, it has been instrumental in giving small business loans to 1.5 crore new entrepreneurs all over the country. As of now, 3.22 crore new as well as existing entrepreneurs have been sanctioned loans under PMMY. Importantly enough, women entrepreneurs account for about 78 per cent (or 2.52 crore) of the total number of borrowers which is a giant leap towards a gender sensitized ecosystem and women empowerment in the true sense of the term.

The best aspect of the Mudra Yojana is the coverage it provides for the entrepreneurs. The
budding entrepreneurs can apply for loans for purchasing vehicles for goods and personal
transport; starting/ expanding saloons, beauty parlours, gymnasium, boutiques, tailoring shops, dry cleaning, cycle and motorcycle repair shop, DTP and photocopying facilities, medical stores; for undertaking activities such as papad/ pickle/ jam/ jelly making, small service food stalls and day to day catering or canteen services. Loans under PMMY are unique considering the bigger domain it is catering to at present. Even micro entrepreneurs are eligible to opt for such. From another perspective, the inclusive nature of the government policy regarding financial and banking institutions have complemented the efforts. In this regard, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which got recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records for "most bank accounts opened (1.80 crores) in one week as part of the Financial Inclusion Campaign from August 23 to 29, 2014, has been key to financial inclusiveness and transparency across the country. The latest MUDRA (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd) data has underlined that in the last 12 months, banks and microfinance institutions have sanctioned and disbursed loans aggregating Rs 1.28 lakh crore and Rs 1.22 lakh crore, respectively, which has been a big blessing to the SME sector. Interestingly, out of this, the sanctions and disbursement to women entrepreneurs are at Rs 59,132 crore and Rs 58,000 crore, respectively.

There is no denying the fact that the Mudra Yojana, which has been catering to young
entrepreneurs with small business loans, have changed the domain of MSMEs and SMEs in
India to a considerable extent. The whole framework has consistently ensured credit flow in the market. No doubt, the smooth flow of credits from financial institutions to entrepreneurs has changed the face of Indian economy and can be said that the approach has strengthened the vibrant Indian economy.