Entrepreneurial finance plays a crucial role in fostering inclusive economic growth, particularly in developing economies where micro and small enterprises form the backbone of employment generation. In India, limited access to institutional credit has historically constrained the growth of first-generation and informal entrepreneurs. To address this challenge, the Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) in 2015 with the objective of providing collateral-free credit to micro and small business units. Uttar Pradesh, being the most populous state and home to a large number of micro-enterprises, has emerged as a major beneficiary of the scheme. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of PMMY in promoting entrepreneurial finance in Uttar Pradesh using secondary data for the period 2015–2023. The analysis focuses on loan disbursement trends, category-wise distribution, gender participation, and district-level disparities. The findings indicate that PMMY has significantly enhanced access to formal credit, particularly for women and first-time entrepreneurs. However, the dominance of small-ticket loans, limited enterprise graduation, and regional imbalances restrict its long-term entrepreneurial impact. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to strengthen PMMY as a sustainable entrepreneurial finance instrument.
Singh et al. (Fri,) studied this question.