Govt extends Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for MSME by 1 month

The government extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs by one month till November 30, as the scheme has so far failed to meet the target of Rs 3 lakh crore.

New Delhi: The government on Monday extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs by one month till November 30, as the scheme has so far failed to meet the target of Rs 3 lakh crore.

The scheme was valid till October-end. It was launched as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May to mitigate the distress caused by coronavirus-induced lockdown, by providing credit to different sectors, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The scheme has been extended till November 30 or till such time that an amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under the scheme, whichever is earlier, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. The step has been taken in view of the opening up of various sectors in the economy and the expected increase in demand during the ongoing festive season.

"This extension will provide a further opportunity to such borrowers who have not availed of the scheme so far, to obtain credit under the scheme," it said.

According to data uploaded by member lending institutions on the ECLGS portal, an amount of Rs 2.03 lakh crore has been sanctioned under the scheme to 60.67 lakh borrowers so far, while an amount of Rs 1.48 lakh crore has been disbursed.

Under the scheme, fully guaranteed and collateral-free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, individual loans for business purposes, and MUDRA borrowers is provided to the extent of 20 per cent of their credit outstanding as on February 29, 2020.

Borrowers with credit outstanding up to Rs 50 crore as on February 29, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 250 crore are eligible under the scheme.

Interest rates under the scheme are capped at 9.25 per cent for banks and financial institutions (FIs), and 14 per cent for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

Tenor of loans provided under the scheme is four years, including a moratorium of one year on principle repayment.

Rs 30,000-crore special liquidity scheme was closed on the due date as even less than a quarter of funds were disbursed to stressed NBFCs.

About Rs 7,227 crore were disbursed to NBFCs from the approved applications worth Rs 11,120 crore -- received from 39 proposals -- of non-bank lenders by the special entity set up for the purpose. The scheme kicked off from July 1, and closed on September 30, 2020.

Of the approved applications seeking Rs 11,120 crore, Rs 3,707 crore lapsed as the scheme ended on September 30.

On August 1, the government widened the scope of the Rs 3 lakh crore-ECLGS scheme by doubling the upper ceiling of loans outstanding and including certain loans given to professionals like doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants for business purposes under its ambit.

To ensure that more companies benefit from the scheme, it was decided to increase the upper ceiling of loans outstanding as on February 29 for being eligible under the scheme from Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore.

The maximum amount of Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) funding under the scheme was correspondingly increased from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

Announced as part of the government's Rs 20-lakh crore economic package in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the scheme was later tweaked to be made applicable for companies with an annual turnover of Rs 250 crore as against the earlier threshold of Rs 100 crore.

Banks and NBFCs have approved loans worth about Rs 1,87,579 lakh crore, while disbursement stood at Rs 1,36,140 crore as on October 5.

On May 20, the Cabinet approved an additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through ECLGS for the MSME sector.

Under the scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage will be provided by the 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 GECL facility.

The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under the GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier.

(PTI Report)