Govt’s Credit Plan Needs To Be Expanded

The government, while funding Rs 3 lakh crore under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), said it was a specific response to the unprecedented lockdown, which severely impacted manufacturing and other activities in the MSME sector. Under the scheme, borrowers with up to Rs 25 crore of outstanding credit can avail an additional credit of 20 per cent of the loan outstanding from banks, NBFCs, and other financial institutions. The government would stand guarantee for this additional credit for loans taken till October 31. As on June 20, banks from public and private sectors had already sanctioned loans worth `79,000 crore, of which over `35,000 crore had already been disbursed. Banks like SBI, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB and Canara Bank were among the top lenders. Finance Ministry official spokesperson claims the scheme has so far helped 19 lakh MSMEs and other businesses...