Credit and finance for MSMEs: The government’s Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme, which provides credit guarantee to lenders for the collateral-free loans extended by them to micro and small enterprises (MSEs), has a 21 per cent share of women beneficiaries. According to the data shared in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha by the minister of state in the MSME ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, out of 69.04 lakh loan guarantees cumulatively approved as of February 28, 2023 under the CGTMSE scheme since its launch in August 2000, around 14.49 lakh guarantees were approved to women-owned MSEs.
The total guarantees during the period amounted to Rs 4.06 lakh crore, of which 14 per cent amounting to around Rs 56,883 crore was constituted by women-owned MSEs, according to the data shared.
Likewise, the share of scheduled caste/scheduled tribe-owned MSEs stood at 6 per cent (4.14 lakh) in total guarantees approved and 3 per cent (around Rs 12,189 crore) in the amount involved.
Among states with maximum CGTMSE loans, Uttar Pradesh had 7.57 lakh guarantees approved followed by Andhra Pradesh with 6.22 lakh guarantees approved, Tamil Nadu with 5.93 lakh guarantees approved, Maharashtra with 5.52 lakh guarantees and Karnataka with 5.01 lakh guarantees, and more.
Meanwhile, the scheme had registered 2x growth in the amount approved in the current fiscal from the pre-Covid level. According to the Parliament data, 10.44 lakh guarantees amounting to Rs 91,427 crore were approved till February vis-a-vis 8.46 lakh guarantees involving Rs 45,851 crore approved in FY20, indicating growth in credit raised by MSEs to continue funding their post-pandemic business recovery and scale.
In terms of loans settled, 90,186 claims involving Rs 1,579 crore were settled till February in the current financial year in comparison to 45,198 claims involving Rs 1,001 crore settled before Covid in FY20 and 67,548 claims involving Rs 1,329 crore settled in FY22.