Mudra disburses over Rs21,586-cr loans since April launch: minister

The Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (Mudra ), the newly set up lender for micro, small and mid size enterprises, has already disbursed over Rs21,586 crore to over 3.33 million beneficiaries of the MUDRA Yojana, union law minister DV Sadananda Gowda said on Thursday.

Speaking to leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party at Thiruvananthapuram, Gowda said this scheme is going to spur growth in the country by catering to the working capital and other needs of more than 57.7 million small business units in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mudra on 8 April 2015 in a bid to support and create an ecosystem of growth for micro enterprises sector. Since then Mudra has extended loans totalling over Rs21,586 crore to a little over 3.33 million units, the minister said.

"Under the MUDRA bank there is a scheme that extends a loan up to Rs10 lakh for small businesses and this is meant to eliminate money lenders. This scheme will benefit the 57.7 million such units in the country and so far 3.33 million beneficiaries have been given out Rs21,586 crore," said Gowda.

The major significance of the scheme was one could avail a loan up to Rs10 lakh without collateral security, Gowda pointed out.

"Reserve Bank of India had issued necessary circular that no collateral security should be insisted for loans up to Rs10 lakh under MUDRA"  Yojana, launched in April last, he said.

"One of the main aims of the yojana was to check exploitation of small entrepreneurs in the hands of private money lenders who charged high rate of interest for loans," he said.

MUDRA will instill a new confidence in small entrepreneurs and the country is ready to support them in their efforts in contributing to nation's economy, he said.

He dismissed the notion that loans extended to micro units would not be repaid and said as per statistics more than 75 per cent of loans disbursed in this sector have been paid back.

There are also provisions to extend special benefits to people belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, youth and women, he said.

The convention was held to chalk out party strategy to face the coming local bodies polls and Gowda asked party cadres to take Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship programmes to the people.