Context:
On 8 April 2025, India marks 10 years of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), celebrating a decade of empowering small and micro-entrepreneurs across India.
About the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)
- It was introduced on April 8, 2015.
- Its mandate is to “fund the unfunded” seemed deceptively simple.
- It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide collateral-free institutional credit through Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) to those who were previously unfunded.
- It is aimed at providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises.
- To support aspiring entrepreneurs, the Union Budget 2024–25 raised the loan limit to ₹20 lakh and introduced a new category, Tarun Plus, for successful Tarun loan repayers, effective October 24, 2024.
- The Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU) will now cover these enhanced loans, strengthening the government’s push for a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Achievements Under PMMY
- Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has notably sanctioned over 52 crore loans worth ₹32.61 lakh crore, with women accounting for 68 per cent of all Mudra beneficiaries.
- MSME lending surged from ₹8.51 lakh crore in FY14 to ₹27.25 lakh crore in FY24, and is projected to cross ₹30 lakh crore in FY25.
- According to the SBI report, 50 percent of Mudra accounts are held by SC, ST and OBC entrepreneurs, ensuring wider access to formal finance.
- The government has disbursed around 13 lakh crore rupees for 2015-2016 when the scheme was introduced, which has now jumped to 49 lakh crore rupees for 2024-25.
- This reflects the government’s firm commitment to support their efforts and its accelerated journey toward making India a developed nation by 2047 through inclusive growth enabled by financial inclusion.