Annapurna Scheme 2026, the ₹50,000 loan for women in the food business

What is the Annapurna Scheme?

The Annapurna Scheme is a small, focused loan for women who run a food business, or want to start one. It provides up to ₹50,000 to buy what a food venture actually needs on day one: utensils, a gas connection and cylinders, mixers and grinders, tiffin carriers, a small work table, raw materials. It is aimed squarely at caterers, tiffin services, home-food sellers and small food units, the kind of business thousands of Indian women already run from their kitchens.

It is not a large loan, and it is not meant to be. Think of it as clean working capital to get a food business off the ground or over a cash crunch, with terms that are gentle on a first-time borrower. The most borrower-friendly touch: the first month’s EMI is usually waived, so your repayment starts once the business has had a moment to breathe.

Who is eligible for the Annapurna Scheme

• You are a woman, generally between 18 and 60 years of age.
• You are an Indian citizen.
• You run, or are setting up, a business in the food and catering line: catering, tiffin service, a home-food kitchen, a canteen or a small food unit.
• Some lenders expect a little hands-on experience in food or catering, and a guarantor.

Because this is a bank-administered scheme rather than a single national portal, the fine print can vary between lenders and over time. Treat the list above as the typical shape and confirm the current terms with the bank branch before you count on it.

What you get and the repayment terms

The design is sensible for a small food business: a modest amount, a three-year runway, and a first-month breather while your tiffin round or catering orders build. Keep the borrowing tied to things that earn, equipment and stock, not to overheads that only drain the account.

How to apply for the Annapurna Scheme

Step 1, Prepare a simple plan and quotations

Write a one-page note on your food business, what you will sell, to whom, and at what price, and collect quotations for the equipment you want to buy. This is what a bank actually reads.

Step 2, Visit the bank branch

Approach a bank that offers the scheme and ask for the Annapurna Scheme by name. Submit your application with the plan, quotations, KYC and a guarantor’s details.

Step 3, Verification and sanction

The bank checks your documents and the viability of the plan, then sanctions the loan and disburses it, often directly against the equipment quotations.

One honest note: the Annapurna Scheme’s availability has narrowed over the years and it is not offered by every bank today. If a branch no longer runs it, do not lose heart, the alternative below is usually bigger and easier to get.

Annapurna vs a Mudra loan: which for a food business?

For most food businesses in 2026, a collateral-free Mudra loan is the stronger option. Its Shishu band alone lends up to ₹50,000, the same ceiling as Annapurna, and the Kishore and Tarun bands go all the way to ₹10 lakh as your kitchen grows, with women often getting preferential rates. Annapurna suits a very small, specific food-and-catering start; Mudra suits almost everything, and scales.

Whichever you choose, borrow against real demand, not hope. If you are just starting out, our guide on how to start a home food business in India and the food business ideas for women pillar walk through demand, pricing and setup. For the full menu of funding, see government schemes for women entrepreneurs and business loans for women in India.