MSME units in Karnataka grab 3.4% of ECLGS funds

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) from Karnataka have grabbed barely 3.4% of the total funds disbursed under the collateral-free Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till July 27.

Various public and private sector banks have so far disbursed Rs 1,20,000 crore under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' announced by the Finance Minister in May this year. So far, the banks have disbursed Rs 1.20 lakh crore funds under the ECLGS across the country.

Since the commencement of the scheme in June, the banks have sanctioned Rs 5,969 crore to 1,72,933 eligible MSME accounts in Karnataka and disbursed Rs 4,126 crore to 1,05,514 MSME units, according to data available with the task force on implementation of ECLGS in the state.

Under this scheme, the government had announced that Rs 3 lakh crore would be disbursed to MSME units that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Karnataka, a total of 2,77,471 MSME accounts are eligible to borrow up to Rs 9,461 crore funds under the ECLGS.

As per the guidelines issued by the government, only SME-0 accounts (units that pay EMIs within 30 days) are eligible to avail loans under the scheme. Union minister for MSMEs, Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that the Finance Ministry is consulting RBI to enable co-operative banks to extend collateral-free loans under the scheme.

Meanwhile, Minister of MSME Nitin Gadkari has assured the industry that the government is looking into their demand for including the cooperative banks as lending institutions under the ECLGS. The ministry of finance is currently discussing with the Reserve Bank of India in this regard, he said.

Gadkari, in his address at FICCI-SBI Atmanirbhar MSME virtual conclave, said the government is taking measures to increase liquidity to the needy sectors including MSMEs.

“We have requested the government to include cooperative banks and state finance banks as lenders to MSMEs under the ECLGS. There is also a need to extend collateral-free loans to SME-1 and SME-2 accounts, which have not been regularly repaying their earlier loans. Unless they are provided with fresh loans, they cannot come out of the current crisis,” R Raju, immediate past president of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association told DH.

The industry association has also sought extension of the moratorium on repayment of loans till the end of the current financial year.