Parul
As per news reports, SIDBI has launched a liquidity support scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who have been impacted by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic.
Reports claim that Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has said that it had received Rs 15,000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide financial aid to MSMEs. The central bank provided the capital through a Special Liquidity Facility (SLF).
SIDBI said in a statement said, “we will provide the financing to MSMEs through banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and micro-finance institutions (MFIs). The schemes would cover all eligible entities having investment grade ratings irrespective of the size of the organisation to ensure wider coverage.”
The statement also highlighted that the NBFCs and MFIs that will receive the funding should have been in business for at least three years and have an external rating of BBB- or superior as on March 31, 2020. Qualifying NBFCs are required to have minimum net worth of Rs 20 crore, and a minimum asset size of Rs 50 crore.
The NBFCs should be registered with RBI as investment and credit company (ICC). An MFI, too, should be registered as a society, trust cooperative society, company, MAC or NBFC-MFI, the statement highlighted.
According to reports, the RBI had on April 17 announced a special refinancing facility of Rs 50,000 crore for SIDBI, National Housing Bank (NHB) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
