Banks sanction Rs 1.27 lakh crore worth loans to MSMEs under credit guarantee scheme

The finance ministry on Tuesday said banks have sanctioned loans worth about Rs 1,27,582 crore under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector impacted by the economic slowdown triggered by COVID-19.

However, disbursements against this stood at Rs 77,613 crore till July 20 under the 100 percent ECLGS for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May.

The latest numbers on ECLGS, as released by the finance ministry, comprise disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 22 private sector banks and 21 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

"As of 20 July 2020, the total amount sanctioned under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme by #PSBs and private banks stands at Rs 1,27,582.60 crore, of which Rs 77,613.06 crore has already been disbursed," the finance minister said in a tweet.

Under ECLGS, the loan amounts sanctioned by PSBs increased to Rs 70,894.59 crore, of which Rs 45,797.29 crore has been disbursed as of July 20, she said.

At the same time, private sector banks have sanctioned Rs 56,688 crore and disbursed Rs 31,815 crore.

"Compared to 15 July 2020, there is an increase of Rs 4,237.44 crore in the cumulative amount of loans sanctioned & an increase of Rs 9,301.51 crore in the cumulative amount of loans disbursed, by both #PSBs and private sector banks combined as on 20 July 2020," Sitharaman said.

Market leader SBI has sanctioned loans worth Rs 20,988 crore and disbursed Rs 14,811 crore. It is followed by Punjab National Bank, which has sanctioned Rs 9,372 crore. Its disbursements stood at Rs 5,047 crore as of July 20.

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

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

For this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore was set up by the government, spread over the current and next three financial years.

The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under 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.

All MSME borrower accounts with an outstanding credit of up to Rs 25 crore as on February 29, which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date, i.e., regular, SMA-0 and SMA-1 accounts, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 100 crore are eligible for GECL funding under the scheme.