“The ECLGS 4.0 will further facilitate flow of institutional credit at reasonable terms to MSMEs,” a finance ministry spokesperson said. The ₹3 lakh crore ECLGS is one of the key components of the ₹20 lakh crore economic stimulus package launched in mid-May last year that offered additional working capital finance in the form of an easy term loan to small firms. The scheme also included the ailing civil aviation sector and further liberalised credit terms for existing beneficiaries. According to the banking industry, ECLGS has already exhausted ₹2.54 lakh crore from the existing corpus of ₹3 lakh crore, and only about ₹46,000 crore is now available under the scheme. Hindustan Times on May 21 wrote that the government was considering various support measures for MSMEs, including expanding the scope and tenure of ECLGS.

Source: Hindustan Times May 31, 2021 01:27 UTC