By-Kunal Varma, Co-Founder and CEO, Freo

“The PM Mudra Yojana has been a game changer in the past decade for financial inclusion. By providing collateral-free loans to small and micro enterprises, it has made the formal credit window accessible to over 520 million borrowers, a large number of whom are first-generation entrepreneurs from under-served segments. The architecture of the scheme, with products like Shishu, Kishor, and Tarun, addresses businesses at various stages of growth. What stands out is its coverage to women and marginalized communities, with 68 percent of the loans going to women and over 50 percent to SC, ST, and OBC entrepreneurs.

In order to qualify for the best interest rates under Mudra, borrowers should have a clear business plan, a good repayment track record, and access through authorized Member Lending Institutions such as banks, NBFCs, and MFIs. As the scheme keeps evolving with initiatives such as Tarun Plus, we are not only seeing entrepreneurship creation but also entrepreneurship scaling up, which is a major catalyst for sustainable economic growth.”