Centre to promote micro loans for last-mile enterprise, job creation

The process of bringing these stakeholders was facilitated by t

The department of financial services at the ministry of finance, has facilitated the process of bringing these stakeholders together. 

The secretary of the department of financial services, Rajiv Kumar informed the delegates that this initiative builds upon the success of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) during the last three years.

This year, MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank) loans would focus on the value chain anchored by aggregators such as Oyo, Ola, Uber, Amazon, Flipkart, Meru, Carzonrent, Yatra, MakeMyTrip; service providers such as Swiggy, Zomato, Grab, Delhivery, Xpressbee, Loadshare; food giants such as Amul , Patanjali; industries such as Lava Mobile;   franchisers such as Jawed Habib; public sector oil marketing companies including Indian Oil and BPCL; retailers such as Big Basket; as well as associations such as Mumbai Dabbawalas and cable operators.

Spread across different verticals, these entities have a common requirement for financing solutions for the members of their supply / value chains. Through their ease of access and collateral-free nature, Mudra  loans are best suited to meet this need. 

Accordingly, various lenders such as public sector banks, private banks and NBFCs such as Hinduja Leyland Finance, Hero Fincorp, Shriram Finance, Muthoot Capital, Mahindra Finance, Tata Motors Finance, Bajaj Finance, TVS Credit, Edelweiss, L&T Financial Services and Kotak Prime have come together on the Mudra  platform to customized sub-products within the MUDRA rubric.

The reach of the initiative has been supplemented through the low-cost accident insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and the low-cost life insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJY), offered by LIC. 

For just Rs. 342, a person is covered for Rs. 4 lakh. Industry partners have agreed to take this up for their last-mile interfaces such as delivery boys, drivers, franchisee staff, etc.

For many of the industry participants this fulfils a long-standing demand to help promote enterprise and jobs through downstream impacts, such as new hotel rooms, new vehicles, better-equipped cable operators, more franchisees, etc, as this encapsulates the spirit behind Mudra  — of funding the unfunded. 

Rajiv Kumar said in his concluding remarks that the system being put in place today will be made robust in three months, and that the government will be able to extend support to more unfunded and underserved micro-entrepreneurs through this initiative. 

Welcoming suggestions, he said that the government wants to make it successful, so that we are able to see the smile and pride of the common man who is able to avail Mudra  loans. He also asked the participating organizations to convince their employees and other stakeholders to enrol themselves under PMSBY and PMJJY.