Narendra Modi says MUDRA scheme helped entrepreneurs escape moneylenders, middlemen's clutches

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacting with the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) said the scheme has broken the "vicious cycle" of moneylenders and middlemen who used to control an entrepreneur's dream.

"Mudra yojana has protected the interests of entrepreneurs by relieving them from the vicious cycle of 'sahukars' and middlemen," Modi said while interacting with the beneficiaries of the Mudra scheme through video conferencing on the Narendra Modi App.

"This vicious cycle had to be broken and someone had to do that. We did it, we broke it," he added.

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP

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The prime minister said the scheme was started to promote youngsters, women, business-minded people. It was never planned by his predecessors as they stressed on "vote bank politics", he added.

"We prepared a product for those who wanted to do something," Modi said.

The prime minister said earlier people without connections were unable to get loans and were either forced to wait or migrate to big cities in search of jobs.

"Mudra Yojana has opened up new avenues for youth, women and those who want to start or expand their businesses. Not only this, Mudra Yojana is also acting as a job multiplier," he added.

"Mudra Yojana has transformed lives of the poor. It has strengthened them economically, socially and provided them with a platform to succeed on," Modi said.

He said apart from some 110 banks, there were also 72 Micro Financial Institutions (MFI), nine Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) which were giving loans using much simpler paperwork.

Around 75 percent of these loans are given to youth and women.

The interaction came as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government completed fours years at the Centre.

PMMY was launched by Modi in 2015 aiming to develop India's micro enterprises sector by providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate and non-farm businesses.

As many as 12 crore entrepreneurs have been benefited by it. There are three categories of loans under Mudra Yojana -- 'Shishu, Kishore and Tarun' -- which signifies the stage of growth from infancy to youth.