The Narendra Modi government has exceeded the lending target of Rs 1,80,000 crore to small borrowers under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana during 2016-17, which has cushioned the weaker section from a slowdown in economic activity.
Loans amounting to Rs 1,80,087 crore were sanctioned to over four crore borrowers under Mudra scheme, the finance ministry said in a release.
The number of borrowers benefitting from Mudra were over four crore, of which 70% were women. About 20% of the borrowers were from the scheduled caste, 5% from the scheduled tribe and 35% from other backward classes.
Under the Mudra scheme, loans are provided upto Rs 10 lakh.
The Mudra scheme, launched in April 2015, is aimed at supporting activities and creating income to hedge the uncertainties arising in the agriculture sector.
Data collated by the public sector banks also revealed that several of these borrowers are not first time or new entrepreneurs, and have availed the benefit as a “top up” loan.
“The achievements of both public sector banks and private banks have been extremely encouraging. The robust growth in bank loans to unfunded and underfunded segments is an indication of the emergence of this category of borrowers as a key driver of demand for credit,” the ministry said.
{{/usCountry}}“The achievements of both public sector banks and private banks have been extremely encouraging. The robust growth in bank loans to unfunded and underfunded segments is an indication of the emergence of this category of borrowers as a key driver of demand for credit,” the ministry said.
{{/usCountry}}Performance of public sector bank chiefs will largely depend on how much they manage to lend under this scheme.
While presenting the Union Budget for 2017-18 in February, finance minister Arun Jaitley set a target of Rs 2.44 lakh crore under the Mudra programme for 2017-18.