Loans to nowhere: Target 3L cr, given 1.8L cr

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal may claim that "job seekers have become job creators" but a government scheme to provide loans for small and micro enterprises is unlikely to meet the target it set this fiscal.

The Budget presented in February 2018 by the then finance minister Arun Jaitley had set a target of Rs 3 lakh crore 'Mudra' loans to be disbursed to poor youth, women and Scheduled Castes among others in this fiscal, but till November 9, 2018, the financial institutions have sanctioned only 41% of the amount.

According to the official document 'Implementation of Budget Announcements 2018-19' placed in Parliament on February 1, the government had set Rs 3 lakh crore target for the lending institutions.

"As on November 9, 2018. Rs 1,23,285.06 crore (41%) have been sanctioned," it said.

The Mudra website showed that Rs 1.80 lakh crore loans have been sanctioned to 3.34 crore beneficiaries as on January 25 and disbursed Rs 1.73 lakh crore already.

Officials indicate the target is unlikely to be met this fiscal though Jaitley had then said that the new target was set after having successfully exceeded the targets in previous years.

Under the Mudra scheme, people can avail loans up to Rs 10 lakh in three categories to set up or expand small and micro-enterprises.

The government had set the ambitious target though since its inception in April 2015 till Jaitley's budget speech, Rs 4.6 lakh crore in credit were given to 10.38 crore beneficiaries.

According to Jaitley, 76% of the beneficiaries were women and more than 50% belonged to SCs, STs and OBCs.

If one takes Goyal's speech on February 1 on Mudra, he said that under MUDRA Yojana, 15.56 crore loans have been disbursed, amounting to Rs 7.23 lakh crore.