Ladder border
Most evidence of a creation bottleneck business women is on the Mudra Yojana loan ladder, which is designed to facilitate the transition of borrowers from the ‘shishu’ level (up to ₹50,000) to “Tarun” level (up to ₹10 million). Current figures highlight a wide gap in female participation at the top level, with their share falling by 26 percentage points between the lowest and highest levels. While women dominate the core Shishu category (68%), they make up only 42% of Tarun borrowers. This suggests that for the vast majority of women, these loans function more as a safety net for household consumption or micro-level activities than as growth capital for scaling a competitive business. The hurdle is also technical as going to the level of Tarun requires current accounts, audited balance sheets and formal documentation that an informal home entrepreneur like a village level food processor cannot easily maintain.
