Top 7 Central & State Government Schemes Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in 2025

Women-led enterprises play a pivotal role in accelerating India's journey toward a 5-trillion-dollar economy. To support female founders, the Government of India and various state governments have launched specialized credit guarantee schemes, concessionary interest subventions, and incubation programs. ### 1. Stand-Up India Scheme Under Stand-Up India (whose extended period ended in March 2025; a revamped scheme was announced in March 2026, so confirm current status with your bank), scheduled commercial banks were mandated to extend bank loans between ₹10 Lakh and ₹1 Crore to at least one woman borrower per branch for establishing greenfield manufacturing, service, or agri-allied units. Borrowers need only contribute a 15% margin, which can also be converged with other central/state capital subsidy programs. ### 2. Mudra Yojana (PMMY) – Women Special Quota (Tarun & Shishu) Over 68% of total loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana have been availed by women entrepreneurs. Loans up to ₹50,000 (Shishu), ₹5 Lakh (Kishore), ₹10 Lakh (Tarun), and ₹20 Lakh (Tarun Plus, for borrowers who repaid a Tarun loan) are available completely collateral-free at concessional interest margins. ### 3. TREAD (Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development) Administered by the Ministry of MSME, TREAD provides government grants up to 30% of the total project cost to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) promoting self-employment projects for women in rural and semi-urban pockets. ### 4. PM Vishwakarma for Women Artisans Women working in traditional crafts like tailoring (Darzi), doll and toy making, basket and mat weaving, and coir handicraft are provided with ₹15,000 modern toolkit grants and ₹3,00,000 credit at just 5% interest. ### 5. State Initiatives: Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana & Ladli Behna States like Bihar provide ₹10 Lakh assistance (50% grant + 50% interest-free loan) to women entrepreneurs, while Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka provide monthly cash supplements to boost household savings and micro-investments.