Union Minister says Women-owned Businesses receives More Loans

By: WE Staff | Friday, 19 January 2024

Women-owned businesses are getting more loans, according to Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, and the percentage of non-performing assets is less than 2.5 per cent. 280 million women-owned businesses benefited from the 400 million loans that were provided, with women accounting for 70 per cent of the beneficiaries.

Minister Smriti praised New Delhi's government's focus on women-led development, highlighting the PM Awas housing scheme and Ujjwala gas connection for empowering rural women's lives. Since the current ruling party in India took over in 2014, India's gas connections have increased from 14 crores to 32 crores, with the majority of these connections under the Ujjwala scheme.

While addressing the event held by the Confederation of India Industry, she stated that the Jan Dhan Yojna has provided 230 million women with bank accounts, with 70 per cent of the 400 million resulting in 280 million women-owned businesses receiving funds. The Union Minister inaugurated a lounge for capacity building and industry best practices. She emphasized the importance of private sector involvement in implementing inclusion and not just sticking to capital flows. She also mentioned the New Delhi G20 summit's focus on gender issues and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for women's policy action.