'Rs 10L cr Mudra loans created 51L entrepreneurs between 2015-18'

New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said over Rs 10 lakh crore has been leveraged under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, thereby creating 51 lakh new entrepreneurs in the country between 2015 and 2018.

Addressing an awards ceremony virtually, the Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles also thanked Covid warriors, many of whom died in the line of duty across the country. She said from 2016 till today, the government recognised start-ups stand at over 32,000 in the country.

"A country which has seen decades where the poor were disenfranchised to receive access to banking credit and facilities today celebrates the fact that under the MUDRA Yojana over Rs 10 lakh crore has been leveraged, thereby giving birth between the year 2015 to 2018 (to) 51 lakh new entrepreneurs," Irani said.

The minister observed that this is a government dedicated to balancing responsibilities between ease of doing business and ease of living. She was addressing the Social Entrepreneurship of the Year Award - India 2020, a joint collaboration between the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum, and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.