Banker's Trust: Tamal Bandyopadhyay on the facts and fiction of Mudra loans

Do we need yet another refinance agency? No one will shed a tear if Mudra is given a decent burial

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd is one initiative that the United Progressive Alliance government is definitely not proud of. The Bharatiya Janata Party government may soon have a similar feeling for the six-year-old Mudra, a wholly owned subsidiary of Small Indus­tries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2015.

Its goal is to develop the micro enterprise sector by extending various kinds of support, including financial, to microfinance institutions (MFIs), banks and others who lend to micro units.

There’s also a scheme for such loans: Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY). Three types of PMMY loans