Rs 79,000 cr loans approved to revive economy post-lockdown

The government on Tuesday released a report card on schemes launched during the Covid-19 period to revive the economy and economic activities.

Interventions by the government for MSMEs have been gaining traction and it's evident from the exponential rise in bank loan sanctions under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), according to a statement by the Finance Ministry.

Under the ECLGS, which is backed by a government guarantee, public and private sector banks have sanctioned over Rs 79,000 crore loans as of June 20. Of this, more than Rs 35,000 crore has been disbursed.

The top lenders under the scheme are SBI, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB and Canara Bank. The loans had helped 19 lakh MSMEs and others in restarting their businesses post-lockdown, it said.

As part of the 'Aatmanirbhar' package, the government announced to release Rs 3 lakh crore additional credit to MSMEs and small businesses. They were eligible to receive up to 20 per cent of the existing borrowing as additional loans at interest rates that were capped.

Under RBI's special liquidity facility, announced in March-April, SIDBI had sanctioned over Rs 10,220 crore to NBFCs, micro finance institutions and banks for lending to MSMEs and small borrowers. The National Housing Bank (NHB) has sanctioned its entire Rs 10,000 crore facility to housing finance companies, the ministry said.

This refinancing by SIDBI and NHB is in addition to ongoing schemes through which more than Rs 30,000 crore has been sanctioned.

NBFCs and 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, and certain other deals are currently under negotiation, according to the statement.