India’s Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the Stand-Up India Scheme for another five years, until 31 March 2031, giving a fresh impetus to entrepreneurship among women and people from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, 11 November, and announced afterwards by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw. The scheme will continue to help aspiring entrepreneurs from traditionally underserved sections access institutional credit and set up new enterprises.
The extension comes with a target: financial assistance for at least 2.5 lakh additional entrepreneurs over the next five years. To back that lending, the Cabinet also approved a credit guarantee corpus of ₹4,111 crore, strengthening the guarantee mechanism that underwrites loans under the scheme.
Stand-Up India provides bank loans of above ₹10 lakh and up to ₹1 crore to women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs setting up greenfield enterprises — first-time ventures in manufacturing, services, trading or agriculture-allied activities. The credit guarantee fund is administered by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company, a wholly owned Government of India company.
Launched in April 2016, the scheme has so far facilitated loans to more than 2.75 lakh women, SC and ST entrepreneurs, enabling them to establish new businesses across different sectors. The government says the programme was designed to help people the formal credit system had historically bypassed, and that its success is why the continuation was approved.
“The programme was designed to help SC, ST and women entrepreneurs start their own businesses. It has been very successful, which is why its continuation for another five years was approved today,” Mr Vaishnaw said at the Cabinet briefing.
The Cabinet also approved the continuation of the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units for five years until 31 March 2031, and a wider package of decisions taken at the same meeting — including nutrient-based subsidy rates for fertilisers for the Rabi 2026–27 season, an extension of the Noida Metro Aqua Line, and a civilisational museum in New Delhi.
The extension matters because access to credit remains one of the biggest barriers for first-time entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds. A bank loan of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore, backed by a government guarantee, can be the difference between an idea staying on paper and a business actually opening its doors — and the guarantee is what persuades banks to lend to borrowers without collateral or a credit history.
Registration and handholding support continue through the standupmitra.in portal, where applicants can find information on eligibility, loan terms and the application process. Loans carry a maximum repayment period of seven years, including a moratorium of up to 18 months.
The scheme’s record so far — more than 2.75 lakh entrepreneurs funded since 2016 — is the benchmark the extension will be judged against. The new target of 2.5 lakh more beneficiaries by 2031 would nearly double the scheme’s reach in five years.
Whether that target is met will depend on how quickly banks disburse the guaranteed loans and how many of the new enterprises survive their first years. For now, the Cabinet’s decision keeps one of India’s flagship inclusion schemes running for another five years — and opens the door to a quarter of a million more first-time business owners.
The extension takes effect immediately, with the scheme now running until 31 March 2031.
