Mahila Utkarsh Yojana 2026: Status and What to Use Instead

The Mukhyamantri Mahila Utkarsh Yojana (MMUY) gave Gujarat's women's self-help groups interest-free loans of up to ₹1 lakh per group, with the state paying the interest. As of October 2026 it is not open for fresh applications as far as any official source shows: we found no new lending round or notice since its 2020-22 rollout, and its dedicated portal is no longer reachable. If your group needs cheap credit now, the active route is a bank loan to your SHG under DAY-NRLM (Mission Mangalam in Gujarat), which carries interest subvention.

What Mahila Utkarsh Yojana was

The scheme was announced in Gujarat's 2020-21 budget and launched on 17 September 2020, during the Covid-19 slowdown, to help women restart small livelihoods.

Groups that already had bank loans needed to have repaid them to be eligible.

Status as of October 2026

Here is what we could verify:

• No fresh round. We found no state press release, budget line, government resolution or news report announcing new MMUY lending in 2024, 2025 or 2026.
• Portal offline. The scheme's dedicated portal, mmuy.gujarat.gov.in, did not resolve when checked in October 2026.
• Misleading copies. Many websites dated 2025 and 2026 still say "apply now" and describe a ₹1 lakh interest-free loan for each woman. That is not how the official scheme worked, and none of these pages link to a current government notice.

The government has not, as far as we found, formally announced the scheme's closure, so existing group loans may still be running to the end of their tenure. But for a new group or a new loan, you should assume the scheme is not available unless your taluka livelihood office or GLPC confirms an open round in writing.

If your group already has an MMUY loan

If your group borrowed under the scheme in 2020-22 and the loan is still running, keep paying the principal instalments on time and keep the bank's loan statement. If the bank starts charging the group interest that the state was supposed to pay, ask the branch in writing for the interest claim status under the scheme and copy the taluka livelihood office. Do not stop repaying while the issue is sorted out, because an overdue group loan shows up on every member's credit report and blocks future SHG credit.

What to use instead

1. SHG bank loans under DAY-NRLM (Mission Mangalam)

Women's SHGs in Gujarat are promoted under the central Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), run in the state through GLPC as Mission Mangalam. Under NABARD's 2025-26 operational guidelines, Regional Rural Banks and State Cooperative Banks lend to women SHGs up to ₹3 lakh per SHG at 7% a year, with the government's interest subvention covering the gap to the bank's normal rate. Earlier guidelines also gave an additional subvention on prompt repayment, bringing the effective rate lower; ask your bank which rate and incentive apply to your district this year.

The group needs to be formed and graded under the livelihood mission and usually needs a few months of regular savings and meetings before the first bank loan.

2. Individual women entrepreneurs

• Vajpayee Bankable Yojana: Gujarat's subsidy on bank loans up to ₹25 lakh, with higher subsidy rates for reserved categories, which have included women.
• PMEGP loan subsidy: women are in the special category, getting 25% (urban) or 35% (rural) subsidy on new units.
• Mudra loans: collateral-free loans for small businesses through banks and NBFCs.

3. Microfinance loans, with care

Joint-liability group loans from microfinance lenders are widely available but cost far more than SHG bank loans. If you take one, know the RBI rules on household income and repayment limits described in microfinance loan rules.

Worked example: what interest-free meant, and what a 7% SHG loan costs

A group of 10 women borrows ₹1,00,000 and repays it in 12 monthly instalments.

EMI = P × r × (1 + r)^n / [(1 + r)^n − 1], with r = annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100 and n = 12. At 12%: r = 0.01, so EMI = ₹1,00,000 × 0.01 × 1.1268 / 0.1268 ≈ ₹8,885. You can check other amounts in the EMI calculator.

The difference between interest-free and a 7% SHG loan on ₹1 lakh for one year is about ₹3,832 for the whole group, or roughly ₹383 per member. A 7% SHG bank loan is still among the cheapest credit available to small women entrepreneurs.

How to get an SHG bank loan, step by step

1. Join or form an SHG of women from similar backgrounds through your village organisation, taluka livelihood mission office (rural) or urban livelihood mission office (urban).
2. Save and meet regularly, and keep the group's books (minutes, savings, internal loans) up to date.
3. Open a group savings account at a bank branch.
4. Get graded by the mission staff, which shows the bank the group is functioning well.
5. Apply for the credit linkage loan at the branch with the resolution of the group, the grading sheet and members' KYC.
6. Use and repay on time. Prompt repayment keeps the subvention benefit and makes the group eligible for bigger repeat loans.

Common reasons SHG loans are delayed or refused

• The group is new and has not completed the minimum savings period
• Irregular meetings or poorly kept registers
• An existing overdue loan in the group's or a member's name
• Missing KYC or mismatched names
• Members simultaneously holding several microfinance loans

How to complain

1. Raise the issue with the branch and then the bank's grievance redressal officer.
2. If the bank does not resolve it within 30 days, complain to the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in.
3. For livelihood-mission issues, write to the taluka or district livelihood office, and use Gujarat's SWAGAT grievance system (swagat.gujarat.gov.in) if needed.
4. For fake "Mahila Utkarsh registration" websites or agents demanding fees, report at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930.

Key takeaways

• Mukhyamantri Mahila Utkarsh Yojana (2020) gave interest-free loans of up to ₹1 lakh to groups of 10 women, with the state paying interest.
• As of October 2026 there is no sign of a fresh round, and the scheme's portal is offline; do not rely on it for new credit.
• Websites offering ₹1 lakh per woman under this name are not describing the official scheme.
• The active alternative is a DAY-NRLM SHG bank loan, at 7% on up to ₹3 lakh per SHG under NABARD's 2025-26 guidelines.
• Individual women can compare Vajpayee Bankable Yojana, PMEGP and Mudra; never pay agents for "registration".