Nagpur: Loans worth about Rs 925 crore have been sanctioned to over 2.75 lakh small entrepreneurs in Nagpur District under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. The nationalised banks have been urged to provide loans under the scheme to youths for starting their enterprise, said District Collector Sachin Kurve on Wednesday.
Kurve was speaking after reviewing the progress of loans distributed to beneficieries by the nationalised banks under the PM’s MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Yojana. The review meeting, held at Collectorate Hall, was attended among others by Manager of Lead Bank Ayub Khan, District Planning Officer Krushna Firke, District Information Officer Anil Gadekar, Shriram Bandhe, Anil Thakre, Ashish Mukin, and representatives of various banks.
Loans between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh are provided to small entrepreneurs for starting a range of businesses including fisheries, honey bee breeding, dairy products and agri-based industries. Kurve also urged the nationalised banks to implement ‘Stand Up’ and ‘Start Up’ schemes along with PM’s MUDRA Yojana. He further said that a two-day Youth Empowerment Summit is being organised on the joint auspices of Fortune Foundation and Nagpur Municipal Corporation. The event will be held at Vasantrao Deshpande Hall on March 25 and 26. A MUDRA Loan Melava has also been organised along with the Summit for providing information to youth about the scheme. All the nationalised banks have been asked to participate in the Summit as well as MUDRA Loan Melava, Kurve said.
Under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, which was launched in April last year, loans between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh are provided to small entrepreneurs. In India, about 65% of the population is below the age of 35 years and for the progress of these youth, there was a need to boost entrepreneurship.
The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana is aimed at “funding the unfunded”. The scheme will help curb exploitation of small entrepreneurs at the hands of money lenders.
