PSBs sanction loans worth Rs 10,361 Crore to MSMEs under ECLGS; Rs 3,892 Crore disbursed

Public sector banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 10,361.75 crore under the 100 percent Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's office on Wednesday. Public sector banks have disbursed Rs 3,892.78 crore in the first two days of the month under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector hit hard by the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

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The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) has been formulated as a specific response to the unprecedented situation caused by COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown, which has severely impacted manufacturing and other activities in the MSME sector.

Taking to Twitter, the Department of Financial Services has called the MSMEs as the backbone of the Indian economy and government is committed to their growth.

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On May 20, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved to enable additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank (MUDRA) borrowers.

Under the scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage will be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) borrowers, in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility.

The main objective of the scheme is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), like banks, financial institutions (FIs) and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to increase access to and enable the availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing them 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the GECL funding by borrowers.