About the scheme

• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is a flagship scheme of Government of India to “fund the unfunded” by bringing such enterprises to the formal financial system and extending affordable credit to them.
• Launched in 2015 to promote entrepreneurship, PMMY provides loans upto Rs. 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. 
• Under PMMY collateral free loans of upto Rs. 10 Lakh are extended by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) viz Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Small Finance Banks (SFBs), Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) etc.
• The loans are given for income generating activities in manufacturing, trading and services sectors and for activities allied to agriculture.
• Mudra loans are offered in three categories namely, ‘Shishu’, ‘Kishore’ and ‘Tarun’ which signifies the stage of growth or development and funding needs of the borrowers:-
  • Shishu : covering loans upto  Rs. 50,000/-
  • Kishore : covering loans above  Rs. 50,000/- and upto Rs. 5 lakh
  • Tarun : covering loans above  Rs. 5 lakh and upto Rs. 10 lakh
• With an objective to promote entrepreneurship among the new generation aspiring youth, it is ensured that more focus is given to Shishu Category loans and then Kishore and Tarun categories.

Why in News?

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that more than 51 percent of total loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana went to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Class categories. 
• Around 68 percent of loans sanctioned to Women Entrepreneurs and 22 percent of the loans have been given to new entrepreneurs who had not availed of any loan since the inception of the Scheme.

Reference:

1. https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=FM-Nirmala-Sitharaman-says%2c-over-51-percent-of-total-loan-sanctioned-under-Pradhan-Mantri-Mudra-Yojana-to-SC%2c-ST%2c-and-OBC&id=438760