The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, approved the five-year extension of the Stand-Up India Scheme up to 31 March 2031, backed by a credit guarantee corpus of ₹4,111 crore. The extended programme is designed to bring an additional 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs from women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) into the formal credit fold.

What the Cabinet Approved

The continuation of the scheme was cleared with a fresh mandate to deepen financial inclusion among India's most underserved entrepreneurial communities. The government stated that since the scheme's launch in April 2016, it has already facilitated loans to more than 2.75 lakh women, SC, and ST entrepreneurs, enabling them to set up new enterprises and expand economic opportunities.

Under the extended scheme, eligible beneficiaries can avail composite loans — combining working capital and term loan components — or standalone term loans ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore, covering up to 85 per cent of the project cost.

Credit Guarantee and Loan Structure

A key feature of the scheme is its credit guarantee coverage, which extends to up to 85 per cent of the loan amount, reducing lending risk for banks and improving access for first-generation entrepreneurs who lack conventional collateral. The standard guarantee fee has been fixed at a nominal 0.50 per cent.

The official Cabinet statement noted: 'The loan can be in the form of either Composite (Working Capital and Term Loan) or Term loan for amounts above ₹10 lakh and upto ₹1 crore (upto 85 per cent of the project cost).'

Sectors Covered

The scheme is applicable across a wide spectrum of economic activity, including manufacturing, services, trading, and allied agricultural activities. This breadth is intended to allow entrepreneurs from marginalised communities to participate in diverse segments of the economy rather than being confined to traditionally accessible sectors.

Why the Extension Matters

This comes amid a broader government push to widen formal credit access for India's socially and economically disadvantaged communities. The Stand-Up India Scheme was originally conceived to ensure that at least one SC or ST borrower and one woman borrower per bank branch receives a greenfield enterprise loan. Notably, the scheme's track record — over 2.75 lakh loans facilitated in roughly nine years — has made it one of the more operationally active financial inclusion programmes under the Centre's portfolio.

The government said the continuation is expected to further strengthen entrepreneurship among women, SCs, and STs by improving access to formal credit and supporting new enterprise creation. With the extended corpus and a fresh five-year horizon, the Centre is signalling sustained commitment ahead of what analysts describe as a critical window for inclusive economic growth.