The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Thursday released the first 100-day report card of the third term of the Modi government focusing on measures undertaken to support women entrepreneurs in the country. According to the official data, 39 per cent of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises registered with the MSME Ministry are women-owned in India. This includes the GST-exempted informal micro units registered on the Udyam portal via the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP).
Among the initiatives highlighted in the 100-day report was the Lakhpati Didi Yojana. According to the scheme, a lakhpati didi is a self-help group (SHG) member earning Rs 1 lakh or more in annual household income calculated for at least four agricultural seasons and/or business cycles with an average monthly income of more than Rs 10,000.
PM Modi last month had distributed certificates to 11 lakh women who became Lakhpati Didis. Modi had also released a revolving fund of Rs 2,500 crore benefiting about 48 lakh members of 4.3 lakh SHGs and disbursed bank loans worth Rs 5,000 crore to benefit 25.8 lakh members of 2.35 lakh SHGs. The government has targetted 3 crore Lakhpati Didis.
The 100-day report also highlighted the Mudra loan scheme. It said that the limit for Mudra loans will be increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for women entrepreneurs who have successfully repaid previous loans. This will help women expand their businesses and increase their economic participation.
The Mudra loan credit limit increase was among the measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech in July this year for existing borrowers under the scheme.
Importantly, Sitharaman in the interim budget in February this year had highlighted that 30 crore loans have been given to women entrepreneurs to help them launch and scale their businesses.
According to the available data from the Mudra loan website, 1.76 crore loans amounting to Rs 1.70 lakh crore have been sanctioned as of September 13 for the current financial year, of which Rs 1.64 lakh crore loans were disbursed.
Meanwhile, the ministry in the 100-day report also said that schemes like Stand-Up India, National Livelihood Missions, and PM Vishwakarma will be scaled up to support women entrepreneurs, artisans, and self-help groups (SHGs), ensuring broader access to financial resources and opportunities for women-led businesses.
To enhance credit access to women-led micro and small enterprises, the MSME Ministry on September 17 had announced higher credit guarantee coverage to 90 per cent from earlier 85 per cent of the loan amount under the collateral-free loan scheme CGTMSE for women MSEs.