New Delhi, Feb 1 (KNN) Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the government has sanctioned 15.56 lakh loans amounting Rs 7.23 lakh crore under the Mudra scheme of which 75 per cent of the beneficiaries are woman.

In his Budget Speech, which was an interim budget, Goyal said, “75% of woman beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, 26 weeks of maternity leave and the Pradhan Mantri Matritva Yojana, are all empowering women in the country.”

Highlighting that his government has taken steps towards empowering women in the country, the Finance Minister said one such step included the Pradhan Mantri Matritva Yojana and providing 26 weeks of maternity leave.

On public procurement, which aims to boost the country’s MSME sector, Goyal said the government had also increased the share of government procurements from MSMEs through Government eMarketplace (GeM) to 25 per cent, including 3 per cent from MSMEs run by women.

Till date, GeM has registered transactions of more than Rs 17,500 crore which has led to savings of 25-28 per cent. (KNN Bureau)