EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STAND-UP INDIA SCHEME OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA: PUNJAB VERSUS REST OF INDIA

Abstract

Finance often poses a significant barrier to entrepreneurship, particularly for marginalized sets like females and backward classes. To address this challenge, the Indian Government introduced the ‘Stand-Up India’ Scheme on April 5, 2016. This initiative, launched by the Ministry of Finance, seeks to stimulate start-ups among the masses for their financial empowerment and also for the occupational development of others. This scheme provides financial support to potential entrepreneurs under women and SC/ST categories by facilitating bank loans for the establishment of unexplored initiatives in sectors such as manufacturing, services, trading, and activities allied to agriculture. Thus, the primary aim of the scheme is to encourage self-reliance and financial independence among the aforementioned groups. This study has been conducted to assess the effectiveness of the Stand-Up India Scheme in the state of Punjab and to compare its outcomes with those observed in the rest of the country.