34.68 cr Mudra loans sanctioned to women entrepreneurs: FinMin

Ahead of the Budget 2025, set to be announced on February 1, the finance ministry has been releasing updates on the progress of various government schemes. Under the PM Mudra Yojana, over 34.68 crore loans have been sanctioned to women entrepreneurs, representing 68% of the total 51 crore loans approved since 2015. These loans have collectively disbursed over ₹32 lakh crore to entrepreneurs.

Over half of these loans were sanctioned to entrepreneurs from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.

The government, however, has not revealed yet the cumulative amount of the loans so disbursed to women and other minorities under this scheme.

“With an increased loan limit of ₹20 lakh, this initiative continues to boost entrepreneurship and financial inclusion across India,” the government said in a post today.

Under the Mudra loans scheme, the government introduced a new loan category, Tarun Plus, for amounts exceeding ₹10 lakh but below ₹20 lakh. Launched in October last year, over 6,814 Tarun Plus loans, totalling ₹971 crore, have been disbursed as of January 10. These loans are available exclusively to entrepreneurs who have previously availed and repaid loans under the Tarun category (up to ₹10 lakh).

As per the provisional estimates given on the PMMY website, loans sanctioned in 2024-25, however, have dropped by 43% compared to the previous fiscal year. In 2023-24, 6.67 crore loans worth ₹5.41 lakh crore were sanctioned, while in 2024-25, only 3.74 crore loans amounting to ₹3.65 lakh crore were approved. The number of loans sanctioned this fiscal year is lower than in 2016-17, though the value of these loans exceeds pre-COVID levels.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, the government provides collateral-free loans through Member Lending Institutions. In a bid to support small businesses, the government offers loans for income-generating activities in manufacturing, trading, services, and agriculture-related sectors such as poultry, dairy, and beekeeping. Both term loans and working capital requirements can be addressed under this scheme.