New Delhi (NVI): Under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) backed by the Central Government, banks from public and private sectors have sanctioned loans worth over Rs. 1.5 lakh crore as of August 18, 2020, of which more than Rs 1 lakh crore has been disbursed.
The ECLGS was announced by the Centre as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package, to mitigate the distress caused by lockdown due to COVID-19 by providing credit to different sectors, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have sanctioned loans of Rs 76,044.44 crore, out of which Rs 56,483.41 crore has already been disbursed, according to a statement released by Finance Ministry.
Whereas Private Sector Banks have sanctioned loans of Rs 74,715.02 crore out of which Rs 45,762.36 crore has already been disbursed, it added.
The top lenders are State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Union Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
On May 13, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a series of liquidity measures for millions of small businesses reeling under the impact of COVID-19 lockdown, including collateral-free automatic loans worth Rs 3 lakh crore.
There is a 100 per cent credit guarantee cover to banks and non-banking finance companies on principal and interest. The scheme can be availed till October 31.
The scheme is likely to enable 45 lakh MSME units to resume business activity and also safeguard jobs which are at risk as the coronavirus-battered economy is set to go into its first annual contraction in four decades.
-CHK
