The Yogi Adityanath government has distributed loans totaling Rs 6,55,684 crore in the last six and a half years to boost the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in Uttar Pradesh.

The sector has provided employment to 2.5 crore youths during the period.

The government has been providing loans to aspiring entrepreneurs every year with the amount exceeding the target each time.

The MSME sector, which was dying due to neglect during the previous regimes, got a fresh lease of life when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over in 2017 and launched various initiatives such as the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, Mukhyamantri Gramodyog Rojgar Yojana, Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarojgar Yojana and Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana among others.

The objective of the Yogi government behind these schemes is to make the state’s youth, women and small businesses self-reliant, and it has so far benefitted scores of artisans, craftsmen and small entrepreneurs in the state.

The Mukhyamantri Gramodyog Rojgar Yojana, Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarojgar Yojana, Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and several other schemes are designed to benefit artisans, craftsmen, small businesses and small entrepreneurs associated with the MSME sector.

Through these initiatives, Chief Minister Yogi not only injected new life into the MSME sector, but also provided more employment opportunities to the youth. As a result, traditional entrepreneurs, who were forced to migrate to other states during previous regimes, are coming back to set up their own ventures in UP and provide jobs to youths of other states. Additionally, they are gaining recognition globally for their hard work and craftsmanship.

The Yogi government has organised several loan fairs to distribute loans to aspiring entrepreneurs annually and has also provided various facilities to them to set up units in order to promote the MSME sector in the state. As a result of the government’s efforts, more than 90 lakh MSME units are currently operational in the state today.

In the financial year 2017-18, the Yogi government set a target of providing a loan of Rs 31,330 crore to the MSME sector but distributed Rs 46,594 crore, which was 149 per cent of the target. Similarly, in the financial year 2018-19, against the target of Rs 41,402 crore, the government disbursed loans of Rs 57,809 crore, up 140 per cent.

Again, the government’s target for loan distribution for the year 2019-20 was set at Rs 51,809 crore but it finally distributed Rs 71,081 crore, which was 137 per cent of the set goal. In the financial year 2020-21, the annual target for loan distribution was set at Rs 61,759 crore. The actual distribution, however, exceeded this goal by reaching Rs 73,765 crore, which was 119 per cent of the target.

In the financial year 2021-22, against the target of Rs 72,251 crore, loans of Rs 83,067 crore were distributed, which was 115 per cent of the target. In the financial year 2022-23, the annual target was set at Rs 78,360 crore, against which the government distributed Rs 1,50,032 crore, which was 191 per cent of the target.

Moving on to the financial year 2023-24, the Yogi government set a target of distributing Rs 1,00,815 crore as loans. From the beginning of the financial year 2023 until December 2023, loans totaling Rs 1,73,336 crore have already been distributed, surpassing the annual target by 172 per cent before the completion of the financial year.