Stand-Up India Scheme 2026: ₹10 Lakh–₹1 Crore Collateral-Free Loans for Women, SC & ST Entrepreneurs
By Nitish Bharadwaj · Published Sep 14, 2026 · 7 min
Stand-Up India offers a collateral-free composite loan of ₹10 lakh–₹1 crore to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs setting up a new (greenfield) business, backed by the CGFSI guarantee so branches don't need to demand security. Every scheduled commercial bank branch must finance at least one SC/ST and one woman borrower under the scheme. Interest is capped at the bank's base rate or MCLR plus 3% plus tenor premium, repayable over 7 years with an 18-month moratorium. In March 2026, the government announced a revamp doubling the ceiling to ₹2 crore — not yet implemented at the time of writing.
Every scheduled commercial bank branch in India is legally obligated to finance at least one Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe borrower and one woman borrower setting up a new business — a mandate most first-time applicants never hear about until a branch official tells them they 'don't do this scheme.' Stand-Up India isn't a subsidy or a grant. It's a collateral-free, government-guaranteed composite loan between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore, running since 2016, and a March 2026 announcement to revamp and double its ceiling makes this a good time to understand exactly how it works and where it actually differs from Mudra or a standard MSME loan.
Who Actually Qualifies
The scheme is restricted by design. At least one borrower per loan must be a woman, or belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, and be above 18 years of age. The enterprise must be greenfield — a new business being set up for the first time, not an expansion or working-capital top-up of one that's already running, which is where Mudra or a standard MSME loan is the better fit instead. Eligible activities span manufacturing, services, trading, and agri-allied businesses. Where the borrower is a company or partnership rather than an individual, at least 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake must be held by an SC/ST or woman entrepreneur, and the applicant must carry no default record with any bank or financial institution.
Loan Amount, Interest Rate, and Tenure
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Loan amount | ₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore |
| Loan structure | Composite loan — combines a term loan and a working capital facility |
| Interest rate cap | Bank's lowest applicable rate for that borrower category, not exceeding (Base Rate or MCLR) + 3% + tenor premium |
| Repayment tenure | Up to 7 years |
| Moratorium | Up to 18 months |
| Margin money | 15% of project cost, of which the borrower must bring a minimum of 10% themselves — the rest can come via convergence with eligible central or state schemes |
Collateral-Free, Backed by a Government Guarantee
What makes this accessible to a first-time entrepreneur with no property to pledge is the Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand-Up India (CGFSI, administered by NCGTC), which guarantees the loan so the lending branch doesn't need to insist on collateral or a third-party guarantor up to the covered limit. This is a structurally different form of security than asking a friend or family member to personally guarantee a loan — the guarantee here sits with a government-backed fund, not an individual who'd otherwise carry personal liability for your default. It's part of the same broader shift that's opened up collateral-free lending for first-time entrepreneurs generally, though Stand-Up India remains the only route reserved specifically for SC/ST and women borrowers.
How to Apply
There are two ways in: the standupmitra.in portal, where you register, select your category (SC, ST, or woman entrepreneur), enter your business location, activity, and loan amount required, and get matched to a nearby branch along with handholding support for preparing a project report — or walking into any scheduled commercial bank branch and invoking the scheme by name directly. With close to 1.2 lakh bank branches under the mandate, a nearby option almost always exists; if a branch claims not to participate, that's a mandate violation worth escalating to the bank's regional or zonal office.
The 2026 Revamp — What's Confirmed, What Isn't Yet
On 16 March 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government would roll out a revamped Stand-Up India scheme, expected to double the loan ceiling to ₹2 crore and add entrepreneurship skill-building support alongside the existing credit facility. As of this writing, the notified guidelines and implementation date for the higher ceiling hadn't been released — so the ₹10 lakh–₹1 crore terms above remain what's actually available at any branch today. Anyone relying on the higher limit should confirm directly on standupmitra.in or with the Department of Financial Services before assuming it's live.
How This Compares to Mudra and CGTMSE
Stand-Up India is one of three government-backed routes to a collateral-free business loan that get confused with each other constantly — our comparison of Mudra, CGTMSE, and Stand-Up India breaks down how each actually works. In short: Mudra is open to any small business but caps out at ₹20 lakh; CGTMSE is a guarantee mechanism layered onto a regular bank loan rather than a scheme in its own right; Stand-Up India is the only one of the three restricted to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs specifically, and offers by far the highest ceiling of the three for a first-time, greenfield business.
Bottom Line
Stand-Up India is a real entitlement, not a discretionary favour a branch manager can wave away — every scheduled commercial bank branch is required to fund at least one SC/ST and one woman borrower under this scheme every year. If you qualify and you're setting up a genuinely new business, apply through standupmitra.in or your nearest branch, and don't accept "we don't do that scheme" as the final answer.