The Stand-Up India campaign, which aims to provide institutional credit to businesses set up by women and backward classes, can cater to the needs of a large chunk of population and boost growth by giving an impetus to economic activities.
Of the 5.85 crore establishments in the country in 2014, those owned by women, scheduled tribes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes are miniscule.
Data from the Sixth Economic Census reveal that women entrepreneurs owned just 13.7 per cent or 85 lakh establishments in the country but employed 1.34 crore people. Of these businesses, just 28 lakh are in the urban areas.
The numbers are slightly better in the handloom and handicraft sector where there is a partially higher share of women businesses. Of the nearly 19 lakh establishments in the sector, 22 per cent are owned by women.
The statistics are evestitchn more dismal for backward classes. Scheduled castes owned just 9.5 per cent of all non-farm establishments and STs owned just 4.3 per cent of these businesses.
The Census, which was carried out between January 2013 and April 2014, also revealed that financing was a critical problem for these entrepreneurs. Just 2.3 per cent of all establishments in the country were able to get finance from an institutional source. For women entrepreneurs, formal credit facilities seem to be even more difficult. As much as 79 per cent of the women establishments were self-financed while 14.65 per cent were funded by donation or transfer from other agencies. Government assistance was available for 3.4 per cent of the establishments while just 1.1 per cent was able to borrow from financial institutions.
Employment for women Data show that female employment continued to be muted and accounted for just a quarter of the workforce. Out of the total employment of 13.1 crore, just 3.3 crore were women.
Concerned about the subdued level of female participation in the workforce, the Economic Survey 2015 had noted that the country’s GDP could grow an additional 1.4 per cent annually if women were to participate as much as men in the economy.