Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced Rs. 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for Covid 19 affected sectors.
As per the scheme announced, the health sector will get Rs. 50,000 crores and another Rs. 60,000 crores has been reserved for other sectors.
The loan guarantee scheme for the Health Sector is aimed at up-scaling medical infrastructure targeting the underserved areas.
This include –
Guarantee cover for expansion and new projects related to health and medical infrastructure in cities excluding the eight metropolitan cities.
Guarantee coverage: 50 percent for expansion and 75 percent for new projects.
For aspirational districts, guarantee cover of 75 percent for both new projects and expansion.
Maximum loan – Rs. 100 cores and the guarantee duration is upto three years.
Meanwhile the interest rate has been capped at 7.95 percent.
Finance Minister @nsitharaman announces ₹1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for #COVID19 affected sectors.
₹50,000 crores coverage for health sector, aimed at upscaling medical infrastructure targeting underserved areas.
₹60,000 crores for other sectors. pic.twitter.com/OFfKzgw2l2
— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 28, 2021
In other sectors –
Interest rate has been capped at 8.25 percent.
Decisions will be taken at a later stage based on evolving needs.
The normal interest without guarantee cover is 10 to 11 percent.
Meanwhile, the government is also expanding the scope of the emergency credit line guarantee scheme.
An additional 1.5 lakh crores has been inducted to the existing Rs. three crores scheme.
Sitharaman also announced a new credit guarantee scheme for loans through micro finance institutions.
The new scheme will facilitate loans to 25 lakh persons through micro finance institutions.
During the announcement, Sitharaman stated “the focus is on new lending and not repayment of loans.”
She also informed that all borrowers are eligible for the scheme and lending will be upto Rs. 1.25 lakh.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana –
The government has decided to extend the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana till March 31, 2022. Till now, over 21.4 lakh people of nearly 80,000 establishments have already benefited from the scheme.
Tourism sector –
To further boost the tourism sector, Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs. 10 lakh loan to travel agencies and Rs. 1 lakh loan to tourist guides.
She also announced that once international travel resumes, the first 5 lakh tourists who come to India will not have to pay visa fees. The scheme is applicable till March 2022 or will be closed after the distribution of first 5 lakh visas.