Revamped Stand-Up India scheme soon: Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that the government will soon roll out a revamped Stand-Up India scheme to support entrepreneurs from scheduled castes and tribes and women planning to set up new enterprises.

Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the modified programme would incorporate lessons from the earlier scheme, which was discontinued in April 2025 after nine years.

"With studies done by Niti Aayog and others, this scheme is being redrafted and soon the Cabinet will be given a proposal with which we will launch a new scheme to continue with Stand-Up India, which benefitted SC/ST and women all over the country," she said.


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The Stand-Up India scheme aimed to facilitate at least one SC/ST and one woman borrower per bank branch with loans of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore to set up greenfield enterprises in manufacturing, services or trading.

Beneficiaries received loans at the lowest applicable rate of the bank for that category, with a repayment period of seven years and a maximum moratorium of up to 18 months.

Banks sanctioned Rs 62,791 crore to 275,291 loan accounts under the Stand-Up India scheme since its launch, the government had said in August last year.

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Responding to a question on whether the government planned to raise the loan limit under the revised scheme, Sitharaman said: “We are looking at various options for the new scheme”.

Explaining why the scheme focused only on greenfield projects, she said several financing options are available to businesses through programmes such as the PM Mudra scheme and financing by Sidbi. Entrepreneurs, particularly in urban areas, can also access the StartUp India scheme, she added.