Banks disburse loans of Rs 1.58 lakh crore under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme

New Delhi: Public and Private Sector banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 1.58 lakh crore under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), the Finance Ministry informed on Thursday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday reviewed the progress made by various lenders under ECLGS, PCGS 2.0 and Sub-ordinate Debt Schemes announced as part of the ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’. 

An amount of Rs 1.58 lakh crore has been sanctioned as on August 31 2020 under ECLGS, out of which more than Rs 1.11 lakh crore has also been disbursed. Under PCGS 2.0, Bonds/CPs of Rs 25,055.5 crore have been approved for purchase by Public Sector Banks so far, out of which Rs 13,318.5 crore amounting to more than 53% of the portfolio pertains to Bonds/CPs rated below AA-, the Finance Ministry statement said.

FM Sitharaman has advised lenders to try and extend the maximum possible relief to borrowers before the festive season. 

The ECLGS was announced by the Government as a part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package, to mitigate the distress caused by lockdown due to COVID-19 by providing credit to different sectors, especially MSMEs.

The top lenders under the Scheme are State Bank of India (SBI), Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India, Union Bank of India and HDFC Bank Ltd.

As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, government had announced its plans for Rs 3 lakh crore as additional credit to MSMEs and small businesses. Such enterprises were to be eligible to receive upto 20 percent of their existing borrowing as additional loans at interest rates which were capped.