Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme

• 03 Apr 2021

Why in News

Recently, the government has extended the Rs. 3-lakh-crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) until 30^th June 2021, and also widened its scope to new sectors, including hospitality, travel and tourism.

• ECLGS was rolled out in May 2020 as part of the Centre’s Atmanirbhar package in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
  
  • The objective was to support small businesses struggling to meet their operational liabilities due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown.

Key Points

• ECLGS 1.0:
  
  • To provide fully guaranteed and collateral free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, MUDRA borrowers and individual loans for business purposes to the extent of 20% of their credit outstanding as on 29^th February, 2020.
  • MSMEs with up to Rs 25. crore outstanding and Rs. 100 crore turnover were eligible.
    
    • However, the turnover cap was removed post amendment to ECLGS 2.0 in November 2020.
• ECLGS 2.0:
  
  • The amended version focused on entities in 26 stressed sectors identified by the Kamath Committee along with the healthcare sector with credit outstanding of more than Rs. 50 crore and up to Rs. 500 crore as of 29^th February, 2020.
  • The scheme also mandated borrower accounts to be less than or equal to 30 days past due as of 29^th February, 2020, that is, they should not have been classified as SMA 1, SMA 2, or NPA by any of the lenders as of 29^th February 2020.
    
    • SMAs are special mention accounts, which show signs of incipient stress, that lead to the borrower defaulting in servicing the debt.
    • While SMA-0 are accounts having payments partially or wholly overdue for 1-30 days, SMA-1 and SMA-2 accounts have payments overdue for 31-60 days and 61-90 days respectively.
  • The revised scheme also has a five-year repayment window up from four years in ECLGS 1.0.
• ECLGS 3.0:
  
  • It involves extending credit of up to 40% of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions as on 29^th February 2020.
  • The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 would be 6 years, including a moratorium period of 2 years.
  • Covers business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors,
    
    • Which had, as on 29^th february 2020,
    • Total credit outstanding not exceeding Rs. 500 crore and overdues, if any, were for 60 days or less.
• National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) is the guarantee provider under the ECLGS scheme.

National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd

• NCGTC is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 in 2014, established by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, as a wholly owned company of the Government of India, to act as a common trustee company for multiple credit guarantee funds.
  
  • Credit guarantee programmes are designed to share the lending risk of the lenders and in turn, facilitate access to finance for the prospective borrowers.

Source:PIB