Role of the Annapurna Scheme in Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in India

Women entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical pathway for inclusive economic growth, employment generation, and poverty alleviation in India. Despite policy recognition, women entrepreneurs particularly those operating at the micro and informal levels continue to face persistent constraints in accessing institutional finance. In this context, targeted credit interventions assume significance. The Annapurna Scheme, introduced by the Government of India through scheduled commercial banks, seeks to support women entrepreneurs engaged in small food-catering and allied activities by providing collateral-free working capital loans. This paper critically examines the role of the Annapurna Scheme in promoting women entrepreneurship in India using exclusively secondary data sources, including government reports, policy documents, and peer-reviewed literature. The study goes beyond a descriptive overview by assessing the alignment between the scheme’s stated objectives and its observable outcomes. It analyses coverage, financial accessibility, and the scheme’s contribution to micro-enterprise development, while also identifying implementation bottlenecks such as limited awareness, regional disparities, procedural rigidities, and overlap with other credit schemes. The analysis situates the Annapurna Scheme within the broader discourse on gender-responsive financial inclusion and microcredit policy in India. The paper argues that while the scheme embodies a progressive intent, its impact remains uneven and constrained by institutional and structural limitations. The findings contribute to policy debates on strengthening targeted credit mechanisms for women entrepreneurs and offer insights for improving scheme design, delivery, and integration with complementary support systems.