Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 'Stand up India' initiative in Noida on 5 April 2016. The objective of this launch is to promote entrepreneurship in India, especially among women, SC and ST communities. It was the death anniversary of Dalit icon Babu Jagjivan Ram on 5 April and a perfect day to launch the initiative. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was also present at the event held in Noida, along with 16 Dalit lawmakers of his party. It was also considered the right initiative launched at the right time to get the Dalit votes for the upcoming elections in the state as the Dalits comprise 20% of Uttar Pradesh’s total voters. While launching the programme, PM Modi said “Stand up India aims to empower every Indian and enable them to stand on their own feet. Soon the job seeker would become a job provider”.
The process
The process would be led by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) along with the association of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and various sector-specific institutions all over the country. The offices of SIDBI and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) shall be designated Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC). The scheme proposes to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to the under-developed sectors of the country by facilitating bank loans.Major highlights of the initiative
- The initiative is to promote entrepreneurship with easier loans.
- The initiative will help SCs and STs, including women, to get loans easily for their non-farm businesses, the amount of which will be between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs.1 crore.
- The scheme will cover almost 2.5 lakh young aspiring entrepreneurs from marginalised communities to get easy loans from 1.25 lakh bank branches in different parts of the country.
- That means every branch of every bank will make sure that a Dalit person or a tribal or a woman will be given a loan.
