SLBC fixes MSME disbursement target Rs 90,000 cr this fiscal; urges RBI to hike credit extension limit

Kolkata: The State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) has decided to raise the MSME disbursement target to Rs 90,000 crore this fiscal, officials said. In the last fiscal the MSME disbursement target was Rs 74,000 crore. [caption id=“attachment_4761101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] This was decided at the SLBC meeting on Monday chaired by West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra and attended by CEO of Punjab National Bank Mallikarjuna Rao and representatives of state government and other bank officials. The SLBC also urged the RBI to increase the credit extension limit over the existing line from 10 percent to 30 percent. Regarding agriculture, the SLBC decided to increase the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) coverage to 46 lakh farmers and increase in kharif loan from Rs 4,400 crore to Rs 10,000 crore. In the last financial year, nearly 5.17 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) were given loans amounting to Rs 8,400 crore. In the current fiscal, it has been decided to increase the coverage to 10 lakh SHGs and increase the loan amount to Rs 15,000 crore. It was also decided to disburse all sanctioned loans to SHGs by 30 June 2020. The SLBC has also recommended that one lakh fisherman will be given KCC and a bank loan of Rs 500 crore this fiscal. The SLBC meeting also decided to fix credit disbursement target for the food processing industry to tide over the crisis, the official added. The main thrust of the meeting was to give special attention to those sectors affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.