By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) backed by a Government of India guarantee, Banks from Public & Private Sectors have sanctioned loans worth over Rs. 1.5 lakh crore as of 18th August, 2020, of which more than Rs 1 lakh crore has already been disbursed. 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.
Under the ECLGS, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have sanctioned loans of Rs 76,044.44 crore, out of which Rs 56,483.41 crore has already been disbursed. Whereas Private Sector Banks have sanctioned loans of Rs 74,715.02 crore out of which Rs 45,762.36 crore has already been disbursed. 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.
In an effort to buffer the agricultural sector from the shock of COVID-19, a special saturation drive is underway to provide concessional credit to farmers through Kisan Credit Card (KCC). As on 17.08.2020, 1.22 crore KCCs have been sanctioned with credit limit of Rs. 1,02,065 crore. This will go a long way in reviving the rural economy and accelerating agricultural growth.
It may be recalled that as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package, the Government had announced provision of a concessional credit of Rs. 2 lakh crore which is likely to benefit 2.5 crore farmers, including fishermen and dairy farmers.
