Central scheme
Stand-Up India
Department of Financial Services
- Benefit
- Composite term loan plus working capital. Margin 15%, of which the borrower must bring a minimum 10% of project cost. Repayment up to 7 years with a moratorium of up to 18 months. ⚠ Status genuinely unclear at time of writing — see Watch out for.
- Ceiling
- ₹10 lakh to ₹100 lakh under the scheme as currently live on its own portal. Financial-press reports describe a government announcement (March 2026) of a "revamped" version reportedly doubling the ceiling to ₹2 crore for women/SC/ST entrepreneurs — but no confirmed guideline for that revamp was found.
- Eligibility
- SC/ST and/or woman entrepreneur aged 18+. For non-individual entities, 51%+ shareholding and controlling stake held by an eligible category. Greenfield ventures only.
- Route
- Any Scheduled Commercial Bank branch, or standupmitra.in.
Watch out for
Do not present this scheme to a client as simply "active and unchanged." Financial press (citing government statements) reported the original scheme concluded 31 March 2025 and that a revamped version was being prepared — yet standupmitra.in, the scheme's own official portal, still operates as if nothing changed, with no notice of expiry or relaunch. This is a live conflict between the official portal and press reporting, not yet resolved by a DFS circular either way — confirm current status with the bank branch before quoting terms to a client. Every bank branch is mandated to fund at least one SC/ST and one woman borrower under the scheme as it has run to date. Security is via CGFSIL.
See what this scheme could be worth for your specific project, checked against the negative list and district classification.
Check eligibility