SIDBI Bill tabled, to enable tourism, film sectors get loans

The Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2012, also introduced in the Lok Sabha, aims to bring microfinance-lenders under the regulatory ambit of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will be empowered to specify the maximum limit of the margin and the interest rate that can be charged by any MFI. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, which was scheduled for consideration in the Lok Sabha today, was, however, not taken up for discussion.

According to the SIDBI (Amendment) Bill, tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday, SIDBI has been empowered to confiscate the mortgaged property or right to transfer by way of lease or sale in case enterprise makes a default in repayment of any loan or advances. The bill envisages not only widening of the scope of industrial concerns, it also aims at conferring more powers upon the board of directors of bank to decide investment limit for these industrial concerns.

According to the statement of objectives and reasons of the bill, an amendment will replace definition and expression of “industrial concern in small sector” with “industrial concern or micro enterprise or small enterprise or medium enterprise” in the SIDBI Act 1989. Further, the board of directors may unanimously resolve to decide the investment limit for the “purpose of industrial concern”.

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