We have made sure that standard, as per rule 45 days, be not crossed and all dues be paid from the government side to the MSMEs," Sitharaman said. The minister added that the digital platform where MSMEs payments can be discounted is very actively encouraged by the government. Talking about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) payments, the finance minister said the GST Council will have to take the final decision in this regard. When we say governmetn dues, they are not just central government dues, or central PSU dues, but also from state governments and state government-owned PSUs," said Sitharaman. Around 1.09 crore MSME borrowers have been provided with guarantee support amounting to ₹2.73 lakh crore as of July 2 this year under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), MSME minister Narayan Rane said in the Rajya Sabha last week.

Source: Hindustan Times July 26, 2021 08:26 UTC