Budget 2022: Govt extends ECLGS till Mar 2023; includes hospitality sector

Total guarantee cover expanded to Rs 5 trillion

The Centre has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by one year to March 2023, and allowed the hospitality sector to avail the benefit of the credit guarantee scheme to help small businesses mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

As the hospitality and related services are yet to regain their pre-pandemic level of business, the guarantee cover has been expanded by Rs 50,000 crore taking the total cover to Rs 5 trillion, with the additional amount earmarked exclusively for the hospitality and related enterprises, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

“The ECLGS has provided much-needed additional credit to more than 130 lakh MSMEs. This has helped them mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic,” Sitharaman said.

Sitharaman also announced that the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme will be revamped to facilitate additional credit of Rs 2 trillion for MSMEs. Required funds will be infused for the same, Sitharaman said, and the move would help in expanding employment opportunities.

The government will also rollout Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) programme with an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore over a period of 5 years. “This will help the MSME sector become more resilient, competitive and efficient,” Sitharaman said.