Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on April 13, 2023 that those who facilitated loans for big corporate houses by calling up banks were making fun of MUDRA, the micro finance scheme of government.
He said people who call themselves economists could not understand the importance of micro-finance and underestimated its importance.
Mr. Modi made the remarks while virtually addressing the National Rozgar Mela on April 13, 2023 where he distributed 71,000 appointment letters to new central government recruits.
Mr. Modi’s statement came a day after former finance minister P Chidambaram said in a tweet that 83% of MUDRA loans are under Rs 50,000 wondering “what kind of business can be done today with a loan of Rs 50,00?”
Mr. Modi said ₹23 lakh crore worth of bank guarantee-free loans have been disbursed under the scheme and more than 70 % beneficiaries are women. “This scheme has created 8 crore new entrepreneurs. These are the people who have started their business for the first time with the help of Mudra Yojana,” he said. He also highlighted the power of micro-finance in energising the economy at the grassroots level.
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“Even those who considered themselves to be masters and pundits of economy, people who had the habit of giving loans to big business owners by calling them on phone, never understood the power of micro finance before. Even today, these people are making fun of micro finance. They do not understand the potential of the common man of the country,” the prime minister said.
The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched in 2015 for providing loans up to 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small and micro enterprises.
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Mr. Modi distributed about 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits in various government departments and organizations. The new recruits selected from across the country will join various positions such as Train Manager, Station Master, Senior commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Inspector, Sub Inspectors, Constable, Stenographer, Junior Accountant, Postal Assistant, Income Tax Inspector, Tax Assistant, Senior Draughtsman, Junior Engineer/Supervisor, Assistant Professor, Teacher, Librarian, Nurse, Probationary Officers, Personal Assistant, Multi Tasking Staff, among others. 45 places were connected with the Mela during the Prime Minister’s address.
The Prime Minister highlighted that the process for government recruitment is taking place at a fast pace in NDA-ruled States from Gujarat to Assam and Uttar Pradesh to Maharashtra. He noted that recruitment letters to more than 22,000 teachers were handed out in Madhya Pradesh only yesterday. “This Rozgar Mela is proof of our commitment towards the youth of the nation.”
