NEW DELHI: FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took stock of progress made under various schemes under the three Aatmanirbhar Bharat Packages (ANBP) to help revive economy hit hard by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Following announcement by the Prime Minister, Sitharaman presented the details of the Rs 20.97 lakh crore ANBP 1.0 in a series of press conferences from May 13-17. It was followed by Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package 2.0 on October 12 and the third tranche on November 12. Sitharaman on Friday concluded a comprehensive review of ANBP with the Secretaries of various Ministries and Departments concerned over three days, the Finance Ministry statement said on Sunday.
Sharing details of the progress made by various schemes under the ANBP, the statement said, banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 2,05,563 crore to about 81 lakh accounts under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector that was impacted by disruptions caused due to the coronavirus pandemic. While 40 lakh MSME accounts have received Rs 1,58,626 crore till December 4, Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free guaranteed loans – budgetary provision of Rs 4,000 crore made for the Scheme in First Supplementary Demand for Grants for FY 2020-21. Announcing Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0 last month, the Finance Minister had said that Rs 2.05 lakh crore sanctioned and Rs 1.52 lakh crore disbursed under ECLGS 1.0. The entire scheme (ECLGS 1.0 and ECLGS 2.0) valid till March 31, 2021, it said. As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 (announced on November 12), ECLGS Scheme has been extended through ECLGS 2.0 for the 26 stress sectors and health care sector with credit outstanding of above Rs 50 crore and up to Rs 500 crore as on February 29, 2020. Under ECLGS 2.0, entities with outstanding credit above Rs 50 crore and not exceeding Rs 500 crore as on February 29, 2020, which were less than or equal to 30 days past due as on February 29, 2020 are eligible, the Ministry said.
The loans provided under ECLGS 2.0 will have a five-year tenor, with a 12-month moratorium on repayment of principal. Some of the sectors identified by the Kamath Committee for one-time debt restructuring included power, construction, real estate, textiles, pharmaceuticals, logistics, cement, auto components and hotel, restaurants and tourism. The RBI had in August set up the committee headed by former ICICI Bank chairman K V Kamath for suggesting financial parameters to be factored in the resolution plans under the “Resolution Framework for COVID-19 related Stress” along with sector-specific benchmark ranges for such parameters.
Talking about progress of other schemes, the finance ministry said Rs 775 crore have been released to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) under the Rs 1,500 crore ‘Interest Subvention for MUDRA-Shishu Loan’. Of this, Rs 206.73 crore already disbursed to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) as part of the first tranche for the immediate release of interest subvention benefit. With regard to the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, another tweet said, it has covered 1.69 crore farmers with a sanctioned credit limit of Rs 1.54 lakh crore as on December 4, 2020. As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package, the government has announced to cover 2.5 crore farmers under the KCC scheme with a credit boost of Rs 2 lakh crore through a special saturation drive. It further said that Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have purchased bonds and commercial papers worth Rs 27,794 crore issued by 67 NBFCs under the revamped Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS). “PCGS 2.0-Purchase of a portfolio of Rs 27,794 cr already approved by banks…Rs 25,000 cr. Disbursed from Additional Emergency Working Capital Funding for farmers through NABARD (as on December 4),” it said. New front loaded refinance facility of Rs 30,000 crore sanctioned by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) during COVID-19 to Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative Banks.
This is over and above Rs 90,000 crore to be provided by NABARD through the normal refinance route during this year. “Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued refunds of over Rs 1,45,619 crore to more than 89.29 lakh taxpayers between 1st April 2020 and 8th December 2020. Income Tax refunds of Rs. 43,274 crore have been issued in 87,29,626 cases & corporate tax refunds of Rs. 1,02,345 crore have been issued in 1,99,554 cases,” it said.
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