AHMEDABAD: Loan amount worth Rs 18,996 crore was extended to MSMEs in Gujarat under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till January 21, 2021, according to data tabled in the lower house of the Parliament. This makes Gujarat the third-highest borrower under the scheme, lagging behind Maharashtra (Rs 30,324 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 20,903 crore).
However, even as the value of borrowing is higher, merely 2.84 lakh borrowers have availed sanction under this scheme, according to the data by Union ministry of finance. This means, fewer MSMEs have availed loans under ECLGS, rolled out as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Experts said Gujarat being a manufacturing-heavy state and being home to several MSMEs, which reeled from liquidity crisis, the borrowings in the state were high. Primary borrowers include those from textiles, engineering goods and even chemical sector.
“Ticket size of loans availed by industry players in state was significantly higher and therefore, the loan sanction amount was larger in Gujarat,” said a banker, explaining the high amount of borrowing.
“Similar trend is also observed in other manufacturing-heavy states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,” the banker said. Industry players however, also said that MSMEs in Gujarat were comparatively placed better because the lockdown eased faster in Gujarat as against other states.
“Compared to other states, the lockdown eased quicker here. Deferment of various dues by the government helped. Cash flow was restored early and input tax credit dues along with other dues were released on a war footing. This helped ease liquidity faster here,” said Chintan Thaker, co-chair, Assocham – Gujarat state council. Severa; measures taken to boost MSMEs include Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion through MSME Fund of Funds; new Revised criteria for classification of MSMEs; New Registration of MSMEs through ‘Udyam Registration’ for Ease of Doing Business, among others.