Lok Sabha Question No. 518 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-03
Subject: Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ms. S Jothimani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 518 ANSWERED ON 03/02/2026

## WOMEN ENTERPRISE ACCELERATION FUND

## 518.  Ms. S Jothimani:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  and  total  number  of  beneficiaries  of  the  Women Enterprise Acceleration Fund established under the DeendayalAntyodayaYojana -National Rural Livelihoods Mission  (DAY-NRLM)  in  Tamil  Nadu  over  the  preceding  three years;
- (b) the  details  and  total  Credit  Guarantee  Support  disbursed  to date, disaggregated with specific data for Tamil Nadu and the KarurLokSabha Constituency, State-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  deems  it  necessary  to  expand  the purview of the aforementioned scheme to embrace women-led enterprises  in  rural  areas  that  extend  beyond  the  current classifications of nano and small enterprises;
- (d) whether  the  Women  Enterprise  Acceleration  Fund  effectively bridging the substantial finance gap for women entrepreneurs in rural areas; and
- (e) if not, the measures being implemented or proposed to address the identified shortcomings?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

- (a): DeendayalAntyodayaYojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has established a Women Enterprise Acceleration  Fund  to  facilitate  credit  for  individual  women  SHG members to expand and scale their enterprises. Key components of the women enterprise acceleration fund are as follows:
- i. Reimbursement of credit guarantee fees to lending institutions.

- ii. Interest subvention on prompt repayment to Individual women SHG members.

As  primary  objective  of  the  scheme  is  to  facilitate  access  to credit  for  individual  SHG  members,  the  Ministry  has  engaged extensively  with  all  Public  Sector  Banks  and  major  private  sector banks to design dedicated credit products. As on date, all 12 Public Sector  Banks  and  one  major  private  sector  bank  have  developed exclusive credit products for SHG members and have entered into formal partnerships with the Ministry to extend these credit services across rural areas.

Number of women beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu:

The  loan  disbursed  to  women  SHG  members  over  the  last three years is as follows:

| S. No.Year   | No Beneficiaries   |   of Loan Amount (Rs. in crores) |
|--------------|--------------------|----------------------------------|
| 1 2023-24    | 933                |                            11.43 |
| 2 2024-25    | 29440              |                           620.91 |
| 3 2025-26    | 31,061             |                           456.14 |

(b): Till date, no funds have disbursed under the Credit Guarantee Support  component.  Further,  as  per  the  scheme  guidelines,  the support amount is to be reimbursed to banks/lending institutions as and when eligible claims arise. Accordingly, the State has no role in managing funds for this component of the scheme.

- (c): No. The scheme is intended to support and facilitate individual women  SHG  members  in rural areas by providing subsidised  loans  up  to  Rs.  1.5  lakh,  along  with  credit  guarantee cover  for  loans  up  to  Rs.  5  lakh.  At  present,  no  changes  to  the scheme are envisaged.
- (d): Yes. By virtue of this scheme, all 12 Public Sector Banks and one  private  sector  bank  have  designed  dedicated  credit  products specifically  for  SHG  members.  Further,  on  the  advice  of  this Ministry, banks have included individual financing to SHG members as a key focus area in their lending targets since FY 2024-25.

In FY 2025-26 (till date), 5.57 lakh SHG members in rural areas have availed loans totalling Rs. 8,321.21 crore to set up and expand their  enterprises.  Cumulatively,  more  than  11.11  lakh  women  SHG members have been supported with bank credit  amounting  to  Rs. 14,162.96 crore.

(e): In view of above (d), not applicable.

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