Question : Mahila Banks

(a) the rationale for setting up Mahila Banks was to provide comprehensive assistance and finance to women entrepreneurs and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the said targets have been achieved and if so, the reasons for taking decision to merge Mahila Banks with the State Bank of India (SBI);

(c) the manner in which the Government is likely to ensure the increase in providing financial services to women entrepreneurs discouraged by the banks;

(d) whether the number of bank branches manned completely by women is likely to be increased to cater to the needs of increasing number of women entrepreneurs; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance


(a) and (b): Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) was set up with the objective of providing greater access of financial services to women. The decision to merge BMB with SBI was taken to achieve this objective, by serving women clientele widely through affordable credit more quickly, without waiting for branch expansion by BMB, benefiting from the extensive branch network and lower cost of credit of SBI.
(c): Government has launched Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, under which almost three-fourths of loans have been extended to women borrowers, with over 8.84 crore loans extended to women entrepreneurs till 23.3.2018. To encourage further coverage of women borrowers, the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) extends a rebate of 0.25% on its refinance interest rate. In addition, Government has launched the Stand Up India Scheme to facilitate bank loans of amount ranging between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore to at least one woman borrower per bank branch for setting up a Greenfield enterprise in the trading, services or manufacturing sectors. Under Stand Up India as on 3.4.2018, 47,628 loans had been extended to women entrepreneurs.
(d) and (e): As per data reported by Public Sector Banks, the number of bank branches manned by women has increased over time to 624 (as on 31.3.2018).
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