MSME: ECLGS Sanctions Crosses Rs 79,000 Crore, Rs 35,000 Crore Disbursed Says Finance Ministry

On Tuesday, in a statement, the finance ministry said that under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) that was announced by the central government under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan to financially help MSMEs (micro, small and medium scale enterprises), loans worth a total of Rs 79,000 crore has been sanctioned till 20 June.

"Banks from Public & Private Sectors have so far already sanctioned loans worth over Rs 79,000 crore as of June 20, 2020, of which more than Rs 35,000 crore has already been disbursed," the ministry said.

The top lenders under the ECLGS have been SBI (State Bank of India), HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB (Punjab National Bank) and Canara Bank, it added.

"This has helped 19 lakh MSMEs & other businesses restart their businesses post the lockdown," the ministry said.

As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, that was a part of government's COVID-19 relief, Rs 3 lakh crore was announced as credit support to MSMEs and small businesses under the ECLGS. Loans under the scheme are pre-approved and eligible enterprises can borrow up to 20 percent of their existing borrowing as additional loans at capped interest rates.

The finance ministry also stated on Tuesday that under RBI's Special Liquidity Facility announced in March-April 2020, SIDBI has sanctioned over Rs 10,220 crore to NBFCs, Micro Finance Institutions & Banks for lending to MSME & small borrowers. Further, National Housing Bank (NHB) has sanctioned its entire facility of Rs 10,000 crore to Housing Finance Companies, it said.

"This refinance by SIDBI & NHB is in addition to ongoing schemes through which over Rs 30,000 crore has been sanctioned. NBFCs & MFIs are being further helped under the Extended Partial Guarantee Scheme where approvals have crossed Rs 5,500 crore. Transactions for another Rs 5,000 crore are under process of approval while certain other deals are currently under negotiation," it said.