Stand-Up India

Stand-Up India was launched by the Government of India on 5 April 2016 to support entrepreneurship among women and SC & ST communities. Stand Up India Loan Scheme is a government initiative launched by the Government of India in 2016 to promote entrepreneurship and facilitate bank loans to Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe (ST) and women entrepreneurs in the country. The scheme aims to provide loans between Rs.10 lakhs and Rs.1 crore for setting up a greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, trading or services sector.

It is similar to but distinct from Startup India. Both are enablers and beneficiaries of other Government of India schemes, such as Make in India, Industrial corridor, Dedicated Freight Corridor, Sagarmala, Bharatmala, UDAN-RCS, Digital India, BharatNet and UMANG.

History
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Stand-Up India scheme on 5 April 2016 as part of the government's efforts to support entrepreneurship among women and SC & ST communities.

The scheme offers bank loans of between inr 1000000 and inr 10000000 for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and women setting up new enterprises outside of the farm sector.

In April 2023, Bhagwat Karad, the Union Minister of State for Finance, Government of India, said that the scheme aligned with the National Mission for Financial Inclusion's objective of providing funding opportunities to marginalized groups. He said that over the previous seven years, more than 180,000 entrepreneurs had benefited from the scheme, and that of loans granted through the initiative, over 80% had been directed towards women entrepreneurs.