The Finance Ministry has extended the timeline of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till March 31 next year or till guarantees for an amount of ₹4.5-lakh crore are issued under the scheme, whichever is earlier. Further, the last date of disbursement under the scheme has also been extended to June 30 next year.

To support businesses impacted by the second wave of Covid, the Finance Ministry has also brought modifications to the scheme, an official release said.

Now, existing borrowers under ECLGS 1.0 and 2.0 will be eligible for additional credit support of up to 10 per cent of total credit outstanding as on February 29, 2020 or March 31, 2021, whichever is higher.

Also, businesses which have not availed assistance under either of the ECLGS can avail credit support of up to 30 per cent of their credit outstanding as on March 31, 2021, the release added.

‘Maximum limit’

Businesses in sectors specified under ECLGS 3.0, which have previously not availed ECLGS, can avail credit support up to 40 per cent of their credit outstanding as on March 31, 2021 to the maximum of ₹200 crore per borrower, it said. Incremental credit can be availed within these limits by existing ECLGS borrowers whose eligibility increased because of change in cut off date to March 31, 2021 from February 29, 2020.

Accordingly, borrowers who have availed assistance under ECLGS and whose credit outstanding as on March 31, 2021 (excluding support under ECLGS) is higher than that on February 29, 2020, will be eligible for incremental support within the cap stipulated under any of the three ECLGS, the release added.

Since it’s launch, ECLGS has extended relief to over 1.15 crore Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and businesses. It has provided support to eligible borrowers in meeting their operational liabilities and restarting their businesses in the wake of disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As on September 24, 2021, loans sanctioned under the scheme have crossed ₹2.86-lakh crore and out of the total guarantees issued, about 95 per cent are for loans sanctioned to MSMEs, the release added.

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