Streenidhi To Offer Loans of up to Rs 3 Lakh to Women Entrepreneurs
The loan limit for SHGs has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 17 lakh, while that for village organisations has been raised to Rs 1.5 crore.
Vijayawada: Stree Nidhi Andhra Pradesh has launched a special loan scheme offering up to Rs 3 lakh to eligible self-help group (SHG) members to promote women’s entrepreneurship, state MSME, rural poverty alleviation and NRI empowerment minister Kondapalli Srinivas said on Tuesday.
Under the scheme, loans will be sanctioned within 48 hours at an annual interest rate of 11 per cent. A maximum of three women from each SHG can avail themselves of the facility. Loans below Rs 3 lakh, including subsidised loans under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, will also be sanctioned through Streenidhi.
The minister said Stree Nidhi had sanctioned loans worth Rs 14,467.12 crore to around 17.96 lakh women between 2024-25 and October 8, 2026, using digital and biometric systems. Recoveries through digital transactions amounted to Rs 4,443.13 crore, while 30,000 biometric devices worth Rs 6 crore had been distributed to village organisations. The institution recorded a recovery rate of 98 per cent.
The loan limit for SHGs has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 17 lakh, while that for village organisations has been raised to Rs 1.5 crore.
Streenidhi also offers education and marriage loans with a four per cent interest subsidy, subsidised loans for food-processing units under the PMFME scheme and short-term loans for tribal women.
The government has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore for loans to women entrepreneurs in the 2026-27 financial year. Loan protection and accidental death assistance schemes are also available to support families in the event of a borrower’s death.
The minister said the initiative aimed to empower women, promote entrepreneurship and expand digital financial inclusion, in line with the government’s goal of creating an entrepreneur in every family.
