The corporation has so far disbursed a total of Rs 1,060 crore during the period April-September 1998 against Rs 640 crore during the same period last year, PFC sources said.

Meanwhile, PFC reported a fall in its sanctions by 8.68 per cent to Rs 1,778 crore in the first half of 1998-99 due to drop in the funds sanctioned for power generation.

PFC, which exclusively caters to the fund requirements of the power sector, had sanctioned Rs 1,947 crore during the first half of 1997-98.

Except for power generation, all the term loan schemes of the corporation have recorded a growth in sanctions. Approvals for power generating schemes declined by about 31 per cent to Rs 1,131 crore in the first half of 1998-99 against Rs 1,630 crore during the same period last year.

Other funding schemeslike transmission, urban distribution, renovation and modernisation for thermal and hydel power projects have reported increased sanctions, the sources said.

During the first half of the year power generation contributed Rs 622 crore, the highest share in disbursement amount by PFC compared with Rs 259 crore in the corresponding period last year, followed by transmission, to which the corporation had disbursed Rs 250 crore, the sources said.

The corporation mobilised Rs 785 crore in the first of the current fiscal against Rs 652 crore during the same period last year, a growth of 20 per cent.

Out of the Rs 785 crore loan State Bank of India had provided, Rs 260 crore and Rs 186 crore were mobilised through bonds.

While the government provided a Rs 63-crore loan, the balance amount was from internal resources, the sources said, adding the corporation had set its disbursal target at Rs 2,500 crore for the current year.

PFC had disbursed Rs 2,025 crore in 1997-98 against the target of Rs 1,500 croreand had sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 2,932 crore during the same year, which was more than Rs 818 crore compared with the previous year.

The corporation, which has recorded a profit after tax of Rs 528 crore during 1997-98, has paid a dividend of Rs 106 crore during the same period.