Loans for an amount of Rs 2.82 lakh crore have been sanctioned as on November 12 this year under the collateral-free loan scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Parliament was informed on Monday.

The government has operationalised Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free loan scheme with effect from May 23, 2020 which is likely to benefit 45 lakh MSMEs, Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

“As on November 12, 2021, loans for an amount of Rs 2.82 lakh crore have been sanctioned,” he said. Rane also said the Centre has announced that MSME dues should be cleared by government agencies and CPSEs within 45 days.

“Since May 2020 and up to November 25, 2021, pending payments of Rs 77,171.82 crore have been made,” the minister said.

In a separate reply, he said under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), the estimated number of jobs generated in micro-enterprises during 2020-21 and 2021-22 (as on November 15, 2021) were 5.95 lakh and 2.90 lakh, respectively.

“The number of units setup during the year 2020-21 and 2021-22 (as on November 15, 2021) were 74,415 and 36,271 respectively and the margin money utilized during the year 2020-21 and 2021-22 (as on November 15, 2021) were Rs 2,18,880 lakh and Rs 1,14,352 lakh respectively under PMEGP,” he added.