Cabinet extends Stand-Up India scheme till 2031, targets 2.5 lakh new entrepreneurs

New Delhi, Nov 11 (UNI) The union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a five-year extension of the Stand-Up India Scheme until March 31, 2031, setting a target of bringing at least 2.5 lakh additional entrepreneurs from women, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) into the formal credit and enterprise ecosystem. The decision is aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship among traditionally underserved sections by improving their access to institutional finance. The Cabinet also approved the creation of a Rs 4,111 crore Credit Guarantee Corpus to strengthen the scheme's credit guarantee mechanism and encourage banks and other lending institutions to extend financial assistance…