Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana in the presence of the Union Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha, and the Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan.
Revealing the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA), Modi said that supporting the small entrepreneurs of India is the biggest way to help the Indian economy grow and prosper. Stressing the contribution of small entrepreneurs in the economy, he expressed confidence that within a year's time, the major banks would also adopt the MUDRA model.
The MUDRA scheme is aimed at "funding the unfunded". It is expected to instill a new confidence in small entrepreneurs with the message that the country is ready to support them in their efforts that are contributing so heavily to the task of nation building.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that 20 percent of the people are dependent on micro enterprises and most of them are based on self-employment. The policy of the Government to have an industrial corridor is expected to help in providing employment to more than 30 crore landless workers. Jaitley further added that under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, micro entrepreneurs will be sanctioned loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakhs.
Modi further added that while there are a number of facilities provided for the large industries in India, there is a need to focus on these 5 crore 75 lakh self-employed people who use funds of Rs 11 lakh crore, with an average per unit debt of merely Rs 17,000 to employ 12 crore Indians. He said that these facts, when brought to light, led to the vision for MUDRA Bank.
In this context, Modi appreciated the efforts made by the banking sector of India in making Jan Dhan Yojana a success. He said that he envisioned that within a year, banks would queue up to give loans to MUDRA applicants too. The Prime Minister also congratulated SIDBI on the silver jubilee of its inception, and appreciated the work done by it in supporting India's small scale industry in these 25 years.
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