Government Schemes

The Government of India has initiated various government-backed business loans for funding support to individuals, business owners, SMEs and MSMEs engaged in Trading, Manufacturing and Services activity.

The government of India recently extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by one month until 30th November. This extension was announced by the Union Finance Minister via a series of tweets posted on Twitter.

MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) is one of the most popular and successful initiatives by the Union Government. The scheme is offered under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the government’s flagship scheme is a Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). It is categorized as urban and rural and is offered on the basis of annual income levels. It offers subsidies on home loan interest rates to eligible borrowers.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, commonly referred to as PM-JAY, is a pioneer healthcare programme initiated by the Honourable Prime Minister. The programme's objective is to provide adequate and free health cover to the vulnerable sections of society – the economically weaker citizens.

The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) has designed and launched special schemes to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. The interest rates on such loan schemes are set at a maximum of 8% and the maximum tenure is 36 months.

India is one of the major emerging markets in the world at the moment. A major portion of this growth comes from the micro, small and medium enterprises including startups. The SME sector makes up nearly 40% of the total GDP and is a major source of employment for the growing population of India.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened by the parents of a girl child, any time before the child turns 10. The minimum deposit amount is Rs. 250 per year.

Energy efficiency and consumption of renewable energy resources have been encouraged throughout the MSME industry. The Government of India, with the objective of incentivizing such MSMEs that promote sustainable energy development, has introduced the Sustainable Finance Scheme (SFS). This scheme is aimed at providing financial aid to such MSMEs that support Environment and Climate Friendly energy consumption and production processes. 

The SMILE initiative from SIDBI was introduced to give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign. This scheme provides soft term loans to MSME enterprises to meet the debt-equity ratio for their establishment.

This flagship programme from the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research under the aegis of Ministry of Science & Technology was instituted with the goal to support individual innovators who will be able to achieve an inclusive growth agenda.

Indian Renewable Energy Department Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has initiated a refinance initiative with support from the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). This scheme aims at providing low cost refinancing to scheduled commercial banks and financial institutions who are in the business of financing existing biomass power & small hydro power projects.

The father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, believed that national wealth would be created only by developing and promoting small-scale industries. True to his economic beliefs, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector plays a huge role in offering employment to millions of people and contributing to the GDP of the nation.

India is a nation of small businesses. From small neighbourhood Kirana stores to cottage industries and other local businesses – small enterprises play a crucial role in the Indian economy. According to reports by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, small businesses contribute to 30% of the overall GDP of the nation and employ more than 100 million people.

MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) are the backbone of the domestic economy and play a crucial role in employing a large sector of the population. Despite their contribution to the nation’s growth, MSMEs have a hard time raising business capital.

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) is a post office saving certificate scheme which was launched in 1988. This saving plan does not have maximum ceiling of investment which makes it a lucrative option for risk-free investors.

The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a savings scheme introduced under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Act, 1952. It is administered and managed by the Central Board of Trustees that consists of representatives from three parties, namely, the government, the employers and the employees.  The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) assists this board in its activities. EPFO works under the direct jurisdiction of the government and is managed through the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The start-up scene in the Indian Economy has seen a lot of activity over the past few years. It is estimated that India is home to about 39000 start-ups and the number is definitely growing by the day. The government has taken cognizance of the fact and has come up with various programs and loans to encourage entrepreneurship. As the start-ups are spread over a number of areas and sectors, the government has also come with many sector-specific and generalized loans.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is a scheme that was launched by the Government of India to ensure the financial inclusion of all the Indian citizens who do not have a bank account in India. It was a nationwide scheme that was launched in August 2014. This particular scheme aims to provide access to financial services such as banking, saving accounts, deposits, credit, insurance and pensions in an accessible manner to all Indian citizens.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was formerly known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This Act was notified on the 7th of September, 2005.  

Entrepreneurism is certainly on the rise in our country at the moment. Various government incentives and the conducive start-up environment is only making it easier.   It is not only men, but women are also joining the start-up and small business bandwagon. To help them through this initiative, various schemes are announced by the Government, banking and other financial institutions.