The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) that helped micro, small and medium enterprises get access to additional credit during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended till March 2023 and its guarantee cover expanded by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, the government said in a press release today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23 had announced the extension of the ECLGS till March 2023 and had also said that the additional amount will be exclusively earmarked for the hospitality and related segments to help them recover from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the new operational guidelines for ECLGS 3.0, new borrowers from the hospitality, travel, tourism, and civil aviation sectors who have borrowed after March 31, 2021, and up to January 31, 2022, will also now be eligible to avail of emergency credit facilities under ECLGS 3.0. The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Co has also increased the limit for borrowing under the third iteration of the ECLGS. The government has set January 31, 2022, as the reference date for companies to avail of credit as part of the extended ECLGS scheme.
Govt extends ECLGS scheme for MSMEs
