Ministry of Finance extends emergency credit line guarantee program until March 2022

The Ministry of Finance Wednesday widened the scope of ₹ 4.5 lakh crore Emergency Line of Credit Guarantee System (ECGLS) to support micro, small and medium-sized businesses facing liquidity challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program’s validity has been extended for six months until March 31, 2022, the ministry said in a statement.

The government has received requests from various industry bodies and other stakeholders to expand the program to ensure continued support to eligible sectors / businesses, he added.

“In order to support the various companies impacted by the second wave of COVID 19 pandemic, it has been decided to extend the ECLGS schedule until March 31, 2022, or until guarantees in the amount of 4.5 lakh crore are issued under the program, whichever comes first. contingency, ”the ministry said. The last disbursement date under the scheme has also been extended to June 30, 2022.

Changes were made to the program to allow support for businesses affected by the second wave of COVID, he said, adding that existing borrowers under ECLGS 1.0 and 2.0 would be eligible for additional credit support of up to at 10% of total outstanding loans as of February 29, 2020 or March 31, 2021, whichever is greater.

Companies that have not benefited from assistance under ECLGS (ECLGS 1.0 or 2.0), can benefit from credit support of up to 30% of their outstanding credit as of March 31, 2021. -he declares.

Companies in the sectors specified under ECLGS 3.0, which had not previously used ECLGS, can receive credit support up to 40% of their outstanding credit as of March 31, 2021, up to a maximum of 200 crore per borrower.

Additional credit can be used within these limits by existing ECLGS borrowers whose eligibility has increased due to a deadline change to March 31, 2021, from February 29, 2020.

As a result, “borrowers who have benefited from ECGLS assistance and whose outstanding credit as of March 31, 2021 (excluding ECLGS support) is greater than that of February 29, 2020, will be eligible for additional aid within the limits stipulated in ECGLS 1.0. , 2.0 or 3.0.

“The introduced change would ensure that businesses affected by the second wave of COVID-19 get improved unsecured liquidity. In addition, this provides much-needed support to all ECLGS borrowers (which mainly consist of MSME units) in time for the busy season / festivals, ”the ministry said.

The program since its launch in May last year has extended aid to more than 1.15 crore from MSMEs and businesses, he said, adding that it has helped eligible borrowers meet their operational obligations and restart their businesses following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of September 24, 2021, sanctioned loans had exceeded 2.86 lakh crore under the program and of the total guarantees issued, about 95% of guarantees issued were for sanctioned loans to MSMEs.

In May, the Ministry of Finance expanded the scope of the ECLGS to 3 lakh crore by including concessional loans to hospitals for the establishment of on-site oxygen production plants. In addition, the validity of the scheme has been extended for three months until September 30 and or until the amount is disbursed.

The interest rate on these loans has been capped at 7.5%, which means banks can offer loans below this limit.

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