Stand-Up India
Also: Stand Up India, Stand-Up India scheme
Background and evolution
The scheme was announced alongside Startup India in 2015, and the two names are often confused. Their purposes differ: Startup India focuses on innovation, tax benefits and regulatory easing for new technology-driven ventures, while Stand-Up India focuses on who gets access to bank credit to start a business at all.
India's entrepreneurs have historically come from a narrow set of communities with inherited capital, networks and familiarity with banks. Dalit, Adivasi and women entrepreneurs have faced additional barriers: lack of collateral, limited business networks, discrimination and fewer role models. Organisations such as the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) argued that access to credit and markets was the main obstacle to building a new class of entrepreneurs from these groups.
Stand-Up India responded by creating a specific lending target at the level of each bank branch, coupled with handholding support. Whereas MUDRA mainly supports small and micro loans up to a few lakh rupees for existing or new very small businesses, Stand-Up India sits in the next tier, aiming to finance enterprises big enough to create jobs and grow. This page examines the scheme as a tool for social inclusion in entrepreneurship and asks how far branch-level targets can change who becomes a business owner.
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Last reviewed: 23 October 2026 · Original UPSCPrep.in content.