From Daily Wagers To Entrepreneurs: How Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana Transformed Lives Over A Decade

SOURCE : NEW18 NEWS

Last Updated:April 05, 2025, 15:34 IST

Saraswathi, earlier a wager worker in a flour mill in Tamil Nadu, turned her dream into reality with a Rs 4.86 lakh Mudra loan. Today, she runs her own flour mill and provides jobs to 4 others.

As the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) completes 10 years, stories from across the country continue to highlight how this flagship scheme has been a game-changer for aspiring entrepreneurs — especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. Among them is Saraswathi from Tamil Nadu, whose transformation from a daily wage worker to a job creator showcases the far-reaching impact of the scheme.

Saraswathi, a resident of Tamil Nadu and a member of the OBC community, once worked as a daily wager in a local flour mill. Despite harbouring dreams of owning her own business, financial constraints stood in the way. Her breakthrough came in 2022 when she came to know about the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which offers collateral-free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to small and micro enterprises.

She inquired about the cost of setting up her own flour mill and found that it would require less than Rs 5 lakh. With support from the Indian Bank’s Red Hills branch, Saraswathi secured a Mudra loan of Rs 4.86 lakh. Today, she runs her own Thirunavukkarasar Flour Mill and has already employed four people — marking her transition from a job seeker to a job provider.

Her story has been shared by the Department of Financial Services as part of PMMY’s 10th anniversary celebrations. According to the department’s post on X, Saraswathi’s journey underlines the core vision of the Mudra Yojana: Empowering the underbanked with financial access and enabling them to become self-reliant.

The department shared another success case. Manoj Nath took a loan under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and started as an employee, and now he has already generated 10 jobs for others.

What is the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana?

Launched on April 8, 2015, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is a government initiative aimed at providing financial support to non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. Under this scheme, loans of up to Rs 10 lakh are disbursed by commercial banks, RRBs, small finance banks, MFIs, and NBFCs.

The loans are categorized into three segments based on the stage of the business:

Shishu: Loans up to Rs 50,000 – for businesses in their initial stage

Kishore: Loans between Rs 50,001 to Rs 5 lakh – for growing businesses

Tarun: Loans between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh – for well-established enterprises

One of the biggest advantages of Mudra loans is that they are collateral-free, making them accessible to first-time entrepreneurs and those without significant assets.

The scheme is overseen by the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA Ltd.), a subsidiary of SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India), which provides refinance support to lending institutions.