Stand-Up India Scheme

Stand-Up India Scheme sits under SIDBI, the Small Industries Development Bank of India, and is one of the country's best-known public lending routes for first-time enterprise formation. It is designed for greenfield businesses led by SC/ST entrepreneurs and women founders, which makes the equity and access mission as important as the financing itself. The program is active across India, runs on a rolling basis, and is part of the federal bank-lending apparatus rather than a competitive grant window. The instrument is a loan, structured as a composite package of term debt and working capital. The ticket size runs from INR 10 lakh to INR 1 crore, and eligibility is tied to Indian registration and operations, with individuals excluded. Because the scheme is built for new enterprises, the applicant profile should look like a fresh operating company with a lender-ready project rather than an established scale-up seeking expansion capital. The best fit is a founder who can present a concrete greenfield project, a credible repayment path, and the documentation discipline that a bank-facing route requires. Strong applications usually make the business model legible, show how the loan will be deployed in a new venture, and demonstrate that the founder group matches the scheme's intended SC/ST or women-led access goal.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.