Equity support of Rs 5000 cr for SIDBI
NEW DELHI, Jan 21:
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved continuation of Government’s flagship Atal Pension Yojana (APY) up to financial year 2030-31 along with extension of funding support for promotional and developmental activities and gap funding.
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APY was launched on May 9, 2015 with the objective of providing old-age income security to workers in the unorganised sector.
As of January 19, 2026, over 8.66 crore subscribers have been enrolled under APY.
The scheme will continue up to 2030-31 with Government support for promotional and developmental activities to expand outreach among unorganised workers including awareness, capacity building, said an official release after the meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
APY offers a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month starting at the age 60, based on contributions.
Meanwhile, the Government also approved equity support of Rs 5,000 crore to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a decision that will increase the flow of credit to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
The decision was taken at the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official release said.
The equity capital of Rs 5,000 crore will be infused into SIDBI by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in three tranches.
It will invest Rs 3,000 crore in 2025-26 at the book value of Rs 568.65 as on March 31, 2025 and Rs 1,000 crore each in fiscal 2026-27 and 2027-28 at the book value as on March 31 of the respective previous financial year, the release added.
“This infusion of additional capital would enable SIDBI to generate resources at fair interest rates, thereby increasing the flow of credit to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at competitive cost,” the release said.
“Post equity capital infusion of Rs 5.000 crore, the number of MSMEs to be provided financial assistance is expected to increase from 76.26 lakh at the end of financial year 2025 to 102 lakhs (approximately 25.74 lakh new MSME beneficiaries will be added) by the end of financial year 2028,” it added.
The equity infusion is expected to generate 1.12 crore jobs, adding 25.74 lakh new MSME beneficiaries by the end of 2027-28, according to the official release. (PTI)
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