Credit and Finance for MSMEs: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday lauded banks for achieving loan targets under government schemes Mudra and Stand-Up India to promote entrepreneurship in Nagaland. Addressing the bankers’ conclave in Kohima, Sitharaman said the Mudra scheme is well established in the state and banks have been able to achieve more than what was targetted. Similarly, Nagaland has done very well in Stand-Up India, the finance minister said. Sitharaman arrived in Nagaland on Monday for her three-day tour to the northeastern state.
“The Mudra amount to be sanctioned as a target in FY22 in Nagaland was Rs 1,006 crore and what was achieved was Rs 1,087 crore. This is much more than the target. In today’s programme, 551 accounts have been covered under the Mudra scheme and Rs 18.81 crore has been sanctioned,” Sitharaman noted.
Overall, 5.37 crore Mudra loans amounting to Rs 3,39,110 crore were sanctioned across the country in FY22, of which Rs 3,29 715 crore loans were disbursed in comparison to 5.07 crore loans amounting to Rs 3,21,759.25 crore sanctioned and Rs 3,11,754.47 crore disbursed in FY21, official data from the Mudra portal showed.
Moreover, Mudra non-performing assets (NPAs) had also slightly moderated in FY22 to 3.17 per cent from 3.61 per cent in FY21 though still above 2.53 per cent in FY20, as per the provisional data as of March 31, 2022, shared by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Bhagwat Karad in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha in July.
Pertaining to Stand-Up India, Sitharaman noted that 523 loan accounts of SC, ST and women entrepreneurs have already been given Rs 112 crore loans from 271 bank branches in the state out of the target of 542 accounts. “That (target) fairly closely has also been accomplished in Nagaland…I’m grateful for the people of Nagaland, the administration, and also banks for having come forward,” the finance minister said.
“Prime Minister had noted that young minds in rural areas may come up with innovative ideas which can be scaled up. So, there was an instruction given that banks through every one of their branches should give one ST, one SC, and one woman entrepreneur similar assistance which is being given to startups,” Sitharaman said.
Under Stand-Up India, over 23,000 crore loans involving around Rs 5,000 crore were sanctioned across the country during FY22, according to the data from the Stand-Up Mitra portal and the Department of Financial Services. Close to 1.35 lakh applications amounting to around Rs 30,200 crore were sanctioned as of March 31, 2022, in comparison to over 1.11 lakh applications involving Rs 25,000 crore sanctioned as of March last year.
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